Wizards Go Muggle
by lauralydney
Summary: Being forced to attend a school full of muggles had never been in Harry's plan for Fifth year. Having to hide his secret along with protecting his new-found muggle friends from the return of You-Know-Who was proving to one of the most difficult tasks the Boy Who Lived would face. Will he be able to maintain his secret? Or is this the end of it all?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Haiii, so this is my attempt at a fanfiction (my first ever...)  
The concept of the story is strange. I do a lot of daydreaming in boring classes, so...this story is the result.  
I hope you guys like it!  
(Trailer of this fanfic is on youtube)**

* * *

**Note: Fifth year: also know as the year they met Umbridge**

* * *

**Chapter One**

(( 5th year))

It was a warm, sunny afternoon that found Harry, Ron, and Hermione seated in the Great Hall with the rest of the Hogwart's students. At breakfast Dumbledore had proclaimed that he would be making an important announcement at the end of lunch. Now, as the food and dishes had been cleared and the owl post had made its run, the students sat waiting. Harry fidgeted in his chair, waiting.  
It couldn't be another Umbridge. Nothing was worse than another Umbridge.

"Blimey Harry, what do you think it could be?" Ron asked.  
Every other year except theirs had already left. Stare were already being sent his way. Even Hermione was getting suspicious.

"I didn't do anything this time, I swear."

Whatever it was, he just hoped it wasn't anything like the announcement last year. The Triwizard Tournament had been a nightmare. He mentally shook his head, not wanting to think about it.

Everyone looked up when they heard a soft yet authoritative voice coming from the professors' table. Dumbledore stood from his seat at the center, beaming at the students.

"Good afternoon," said Dumbledore, his voice echoing through the silent Great Hall. "I'm sure you are all very curious as to what the big surprise everyone is talking about may be."

_He was happy. Good. No Umbridge._

There was an excited, and somewhat nervous murmur from the crowd before it died down.

"Most of you know Professor Charity Burbage," he said, gesturing to his left and a blond woman stood up from part way down the left side of the professors' table. Harry had seen her before, but he had never had any classes with her. He wasn't even quite sure what subject she taught.

As if reading Harry's mind, Hermione leaned over to whisper in his ear. "She's the Muggle Studies professor. She taught me back when we were third years."

Dumbledore motioned for the professor to speak as he re-took his seat, politely giving her his attention. The students shifted their gazes from Dumbledore to Professor Burbage.

"Hello students!" she beamed. "For those of you who don't know, I am the Muggle Studies professor. This year we have a very special treat for all of you. But first," There was a pause as she reached into a pocket of her robes for a roll of official-looking parchment. She cleared her throat and began to read:

"_Today I stand here before you students. Muggle-borns, Pure Bloods, and Half-bloods,_

_All who look the same underneath the skin. In this present day we have learned not to judge based on gender, race, age, or_

_even sexuality, but there is still one thing wizards have never been able to grasp. They have never been able to grasp the concept that muggles and wizards are the_

_same. Most of you, I am sure, do not have muggle friends. Most of you find it hard to apprehend that muggles and wizards are both human, whether you be_

_muggle born , pure blood or half blood. We all have the same blood running through our veins. We may have all come from a different ship, but we are on the same boat_

_now."_

Professor Burbage looked up from her scroll.

_"This is a concept that wizards need to grasp. Although muggles don't have magic, they are still human; just as wizards are still human. Under the skin, we are exactly the same."_

"With that said," Dumbledore continued, and stood up once more. "The announcement; we will have a field trip this year. You will all be attending a muggle school for a month. Starting with Fifth year."

Harry waited for the '_just kidding'. _It never came. Instead, the man continued explaining.

"Then another year will go for a couple of months before returning, and so on.  
"This, we hope, will give every student a chance to interact with muggles for a time and learn that they are not as inferior as some wizards like to believe. Remember, students, that you will be covertly representing not only Hogwarts, but your fellow wizards as well. I therefore ask that you all go on your best behaviors and do Hogwarts proud."

The whole room was silent, except for Ron who had fallen asleep during the speech, and was now snoring loudly. Thoughts raced through Harry's mind as students began whispering to each other. He was now wishing it _had_ been another Triwizard Tournament announcement. Anything was better than this. Out of all of the things he wished he never had to repeat, this one took the cake. _Muggle school!__What were they thinking?!_

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry, the first few chapters will be pretty short. This is more of a 'go with the flow' type story since I'm procrastinating homework with it.  
****I'll do some prewrites and give you guys longer chapters soon (promise).**

**Well, hope you liked it (even though it's just the first chapter...).**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Once the crowd came to their senses, there was a bit of an uproar.  
"We signed up for a _Hogwarts_!" one student yelled.

"What about learning _Magic?"_another student shouted.

Dumbledore let them rage on for a couple of seconds before silencing them.

"Students!" he called. "Your magic lessons will continue as normal.  
You will have a hidden room in the muggle school you will attend classes taught by _our _teachers for most of the day.  
The room is only accessible only by a certain wand code, much like The Leaky Cauldron."

Professor McGonagall took the stage, looking displeased with the idea. She'd kept quiet during the whole announcement, pursing her lips in disapproval.

"It will only be for a couple of months," she said "It's an opportunity for first-hand experience with muggles.  
Any other questions you may have will be answered on the guide you will find on your bed in the common room. Even myself will attend this field trip, and continue with transfiguration lessons for the first two trips. Meanwhile we have gotten a few number of parents who have signed up to take turns teaching while some teachers are away."

There was a soft murmur heard all around the room, but no one dare contradict McGonagall. With the discussion over, each student was sent to their dormitories where first the Fifth years would have to start packing to leave Hogwarts.

Harry and Ron said bye to Hermione as they headed to the boy's dormitories. Each boy rushed towards their bed to look at the field trip guide.

**_WELCOME TO WALKER HIGH TRANSFER STUDENTS!_**

**_WE UNDERSTAND THERE ARE SOME CLASSES YOU WON'T BE ATTENDING DUE TO YOUR ADVANCED CURRICULUM IN CERTAIN SUBJECTS._**_**  
**_**_FOR THE CLASSES YOU WILL BE ATTENDING, HERE IS YOUR SCHEDULE:_**

**_To start off the day with what most agree to be an easy class : computer lab_**

**_next you will have :History_**

**_:Literature_**

**_:FREE PERIOD/LUNCH_**

**_: 3 hour private lesson from your school teachers._**

**_:Math_**

**_:P.E_**

**_:SCIENCE_**

**_FINALLY :ROBOTICS_**

**_MATERIALS NEEDED:_**

**_pencils, pencil sharpener, calculator, notebooks, pens, backpack, lab coat . (other materials will be provided)_**

**_WARNING: cell phones are only allowed during break and in between classes._**

**_DRESS CODE:_**

**_This school does not require a uniform (except for P.E)._**

**_pants must knee-length and shirt sleeves must not be too revealing._**

**_Tennis shoes only._**

**_EXTRA SCHOOL ACTIVITIES:_**

**_Soccer, Basketball, Football, Tennis, swim team, computer club, (other activities are listed on the wall at the gym)_**

**Harry potter locker combination: 8, 24, 13**

**_HOPE YOU ENJOY!_**

_GOOD LUCK. DEPUTY HEADMASTER: EDWIN .T GRAY_

"Harry?" Ron called. "what's a cell phone?"

"Harry?" Neville called. "What's a calculator?"

"Computer?"

"ROBOTICS?!"

_This _Harry thought, was going to be a long couple months.


	3. Chapter 3

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: english is not my first language...sorry. feel free to point out any mistakes so I can go back and fix them. (from now on chapters will be longer, but that means I cant post every day)**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Harry Ron and Hermione handed their bags to Hagrid and headed back into Hogwarts to have their final breakfast there for what would be a long time.

Harry felt kind of like he felt at the end of each year when he had to go back to the Dursleys. The only bright side was that Professor Umbridge wouldn't be coming on the field trip with them. He was a bit tired from last night, since he spent a long part of it trying to explain to Ron how to use a mailbox. Many of the Gryffindors had gone into a bit of a panic when they heard that they would not be allowed to bring their owls along.

Harry was positive Hedwig would find him, wherever he was, so he wasn't too worried about that.

They had only been allowed to pack their school books ,along with their wand, and cauldron. Any other items had to be approved by Professor McGonagall. That, however, didn't stop Fred and George from encouraging them to bring a couple prank candies along with them. They would've accepted the offer if Hermione hadn't been in earshot of the whole conversation.

They heard that once they got on the train, they would be provided with their school materials, and extra things the school thought they might need.

Ron seemed more scared of the field trip rather than dreading it, while Hermione looked excited. She'd told Harry and Ron that she felt it was a great opportunity for wizards and muggles to come together.

When they arrived at breakfast, harry saw that most of the fifth years looked like they were about to have their O.W.L.S . Most were all running around in a panic asking muggle borns all sorts of questions. Harry had even heard one student ask if muggles spoke the same language. Harry didn't think he was serious...well he _hoped _not.

Harry ate his breakfast, but had to force most of it down. His stomach was so full of knots, that he didn't even feel hungry. Ron hadn't even touched his food.

Once the time came Harry and his friends made their way to the train. He could feel the nervous aura all around him. He could also feel an angry one which was being emitted by the Slytherins. Harry could only imagine how Malfoy felt about having to spend a couple of months in a muggle school.

He laughed at that thought as he climbed on to the train.

Harry Ron and Hermione sat together in the train compartment, as Professor McGonagall passed by and handed them each a bag.

Harry opened it and found various items inside. He first pulled out a dark Red backpack with several pockets. There was absolutely nothing special about it. Harry looked inside each pocket, but found nothing inside. He began to shake the backpack to see if anything would happen, but nothing ever did. It was an absolutely ordinary muggle backpack.

Ron and Hermione both pulled out theirs to find that they looked exactly the same as Harry's , except that the tags read 'Ron Weasley', and ' Hermione Granger'.

Harry decided to just put the bag down instead of looking through it. He wasn't in the mood to look at his school supplies. Ron, however, pulled everything out of his bag.

"Hey Hermione," said Ron. "what's this thing?" he asked, holding up a black rectangular shaped object.

"No way!" she squealed "We got cell phones!"

" what's a sail pone?"

"A _Cell Phone,"_ Hermione corrected. "Is a device used to call people."

She pulled her's out of the bag, and examined it. "It seems the teachers have already put all the contacts in," she said. "I already have you both saved," she beamed.

She began to dial a number.

A couple of seconds passed before Ron's phone began to vibrate in his hand. He yelped and dropped it.

"What the bloody hell is it doing!?" he gasped.

"Relax Ron," Harry laughed. "Just press the green button."

Ron picked up is phone, and did as Harry said.

"Now put it to your ear," Hermione said eagerly.

Ron cautiously put it to his ear, and Hermione lifted her own to her lips.

"heeeyyyy" Hermione said

Ron jumped as he heard her voice coming from the cell phone.

"Wow!" he gasped. "That's bloody brilliant!"

The rest of the ride passed with them searching through their bags, and buying food from the trolley.

In their bags they had found all the school supplies, along with some muggle money with a note saying _to be used for Muggle clothing, and other necessities, any left-over may be used for weekend activities._

They'd be arriving at muggle money conversion booth in London just before they entered the school. Hermione had spent the rest of the field trip teaching Ron how to count muggle money, along with other nervous Hogwarts' students.

Harry had noticed that some of the students had had blue or yellow backpacks instead of red. Harry could only assume that they were color coded by house.

Soon he got up to change into his muggle clothing (the one pair they all had at the beginning of the year before changing into their robes), and thought about what it would be like to go clothe shopping for muggle clothing. It would mean that this time when he went to a muggle school, he wouldn't have to wear Dudley's old hand-me-downs.

Come to think of it...He didn't even have to go to a school _with _Dudley. He got back in the compartment, and thought about it for a while before his eyelids began to flutter shut. The only noise that woke him was when heard the bus stop at platform 9 3/4 as the students began to mount the buses that would take them to walker high.

Buses which would be driven by muggles. He began to worry. What if his friends wouldn't be able to act normal before even arriving to the school?

He took a deep breath, got off the train, and mounted the bus.


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors note: Heyyy sorry this story has been so slow paced. I just didn't want to get right to the action, but don't worry, in this chapter they will meet some new characters. Thank you for all your support, and those of you who leave reviews (It means ALOTTTT).**  
**Anyway. English isn't my first language so sorry, and feel free to point out mistakes in reviews**  
**Hope you enjoy! love you guys!**

* * *

The yellow school bus ride had lasted about one hour. Harry couldn't remember most of it. Once they had arrived at the hotel they would be staying at before being officially registered in the school in a couple of hours, he had immediately fallen asleep once his head had hit the pillow. He didn't even bother to check who else shared the hotel room with him.

Even though he'd been tried, he'd woken up very early due to a continuing nightmare about having to go to school with Dudley again. He rubbed his eyes as he sighed, and got up to go get dressed to have some breakfast.

When he arrived at the breakfast table he noticed most students seemed to be struggling with the vending machines, and other equipment. They seemed to be attracting some funny looks from strangers.

Harry hurried, got his breakfast and found a spot next to Ron. When the boys were finished, they hurried out to get on the bus that would take them to the school.

They could feel the anxiety in the air as the school bus began to move to their new, and final destination.  
Harry wondered how the muggle kids would treat them; he never got to interact much with them thanks to Dudley.

All of the muggle kids at his old school had been afraid to talk to him because they were worried that if they did so, Dudley would pick on them like he picked on Harry.  
He wondered if muggle kids where really all that different, what they did for fun, what _High school_ was like.

He had seen so many muggle kids his age talk about it, along with Dudley. They had made it sound so bad and good at the same time. He heard a lot of them talk about difficult classes like algebra, which he had never learned to do in his school. They had learned almost nothing mathematical at Hogwarts, along with hardly any literature. What if his classes where too hard? What if he couldn't make any friends?

He would no longer be considered the _Boy Who Lived_ since the muggles knew nothing of Voldemort or of the famous Potter. When he had entered Hogwarts, he'd had no trouble making friends because he was so famous ...the famous _Boy Who Lived,_ but now he was just Harry. Just himself. Would anyone like him for who he was, without him being famous? What if he became...a loser _again. _Would his friends stick by him?

"_Of course they would_," Harry reassured himself.

"Would what Harry?" he heard Hermione ask.

"Nothing," he answered quickly.

He counted his muggle money inside his bag, careful to not let Ron see. Like all the students, he'd converted all of the money he'd brought to spend at Hogsmead this year. 653.00 pounds.

Soon he heared the screeching noise of the tires coming to a sudden stop.

Startled, he looked up to find they had stopped at a huge brick building. It was almost what you could describe as being the complete opposite of Hogwarts. The only thing that could make it stand out was its size. Unlike Hogwarts it was so _...plain,_ so..._organized?_

There was nothing spontaneous or magical about it, but the students did stand out though. They were all walking into the building in different _groups_ there were no houses to distinguish them, only their very own personality.  
Some were dressed in very spirit like clothing, holding sports equipment. Those groups seemed to be surrounded by girls in a short uniform. Harry recognized them as cheerleaders. He'd heard Dudley talk about them to his friends...not a very appropriate conversation anyways

Other groups dressed in all black clothing, with scary looking band t-shirts and tattoos. He also spotted other groups with lots of technological devices, and comic books. The groups seemed to go on forever, and he began to worry (again). Now that there were no houses, would he and his friends go separate ways?

As soon as everyone was off the bus, the Hogwarts students walked slowly into the building. They were all walking so tightly packed, you would think they had been glued together.  
As soon as the Hogwarts teachers led them inside, and handed them a map to the secret room in which they would study magic, they left them alone in a waiting room. They had been told that some students would be there shortly to show them around, and take them to their first class.

There was a murmur among the crowd as they took a good look inside the building. It was so different. There were no random paintings moving everywhere, no ghost passing through the walls, no random flying objects or scary looking passageways. It seemed so assigned, as if everything had its place, as Hogwarts, but this time it was a different type of organized... it seemed so _normal_.

The crowd suddenly went quiet when the heard footsteps approaching. They looked up and saw a girl about their age, along with another boy who looked about a year older. The girl had light brown hair that reached all the way to her waist. It was somehow messy and organized all at once. She had lots of freckles, and wore a bright green t-shirt with a frog on it, and some white pants. She seemed to be so happy and excited to show everyone around, yet had an expression as if she'd done it many times before.

The boy, however, seemed to be more neatly dressed, with dark black jeans and a pale blue shirt with a gray hoodie. He appeared to have a very calm, yet interested expression. He possessed a dirty blond hair, but he had died a couple streaks a dark brown color. He was tall for his age, and had a bit of a smart look on his face, yet he proceeded to let the girl start the talking, as if amused by her authoritative personality.

"Welcome exchange students!" she beamed. "We are very pleased to have you in our school this morning," she said, mocking a stuck up British tone.

Some Hogwarts students laughed, others were still a bit on edge.

"As this paper says, your first class today is computer lab" the boy continued, not trusting her not to make a joke out of this. "We will show you your way to your class, and come at the end to show you to your next."

"We have already been informed that you have not done computer lab classes at your school, but I'm guessing most of you have some knowledge as to how to manage simple computer programs?"

No one answered, not wanting to look stupid in front of the muggle.

When no one said anything, the muggle girl continued. "Not to worry!" she laughed "Technology is stupid anyway" she smiled, then turned to glare at the boy.

"If you need anything, my name is Emily , and that grumpy one over there is Andrew. We would love to explain more to you, but it'll have to wait until lunch since the bell will ring any minute"

"If you will follow us" said Andrew. "We will lead you to your first class with Mrs. Techno freak"

Emily laughed, it seemed to be some sort of inside joke they would soon learn.

As Emily and Andrew headed out the door, the rest of the students cautiously followed.

* * *

**Author's note: Well, hope I used that british money term right... (Don't judge me I'm Colombian XD). 653.00 pounds...? About 1000 dollars..right? 2911300.00 about pesos? AH STUPID NUMBERS.  
Did some research. Not all schools in London wear uniform (kinda like in my country). I'll make walker high one of those schools because uniforms suck. **

**Regardless, Hope you enjoyed. Please don't judge my stupidity :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**AUTHORS NOTE!:**

**SORRYYYY I can't update much, because it's test week at school, and the last couple of weeks we've been trying to cram as much useless crap into our brain as possible.**  
**We'll be on vacation soon, and then I'll be able to update more, like almost every day. It this chapter not much happens (sorry about that) I was going to make it longer, but then I realized that I hadn't updated in while, and don't want y'all to lose interest. Love you guys! especially the ones that leave reviews! :D it's really encouraging.**

* * *

The students walked through many twist and turns in the hallways. Unlike Hogwarts, they thought they might never remember where any of their classrooms were located, because unlike theirs school, everything looked the same! Everything seemed hard to distinguish, from classroom doors, to the weird thing called lockers.

Harry knew what they were; however, he had never used one before. He had left muggle school before any of them had lockers, and never got around to learning how to unlock one.  
This proved to be a difficult task for all Hogwarts students.

_Right , left, right. _no click.

_Right, left, right..._still no click.

Harry began to get frustrated, and just started pulling the lock by force.

Emily and Andrew exchanged some dumbfounded glances as to why no one could open a simple locker.

"Hurry up will you guys, even _we'll _be late for class," Andrew huffed.

He received an 'accidental' stomp on the foot from Emily.

"It's okay," she glared at Andrew. "Here, we'll help you guys."

She first went over to Neville, who seemed to be one of the students having the most trouble with their locks. Neville blushed as Emily leaned closer to him and calmly demonstrated how to unlock it.

"See, it wasn't that hard was it?" she smiled.

Neville looked like he wanted to thank her, but couldn't speak. She laughed and moved on to the next student. The only one who seemed to need no help opening it was Hermione, even though shew never got around to using lockers herself.

Soon Hermione was helping Emily and Andrew with the Hogwarts' students.

It all seemed to be going well, until Andrew approached Malfoy to offer some help.

"Here man, what's your combination?" Andrew reached to retrieve the lock.

"Don't touch me; I don't need help from a filthy mudblood!" Malfoy spat.

Andrew, shocked by his reaction, and confused by his comment, only walked away.

All of Hogwarts turned to glare at Malfoy, along with a couple of Slytherins.

"Merlin Malfoy, do you want to expose us or what?" a Slytherin girl hissed at him.

Malfoy only glared back and continued to fumble with his lock.

"Merlin?" Andrew whispered to Emily "Yeah, they're weird."

Once everyone had gotten their books and other stuff in their locker, they headed off to class. They were already about five minutes late, which Andrew was complaining to Emily about.

"Maybe thing where different at their school," Emily tried to calm him down, unaware to most of the student trying to listen to what was being said about them.

"Yeah, but what the hell is a mudblood?" Andrew said, raising an eyebrow. "What do they think they're better than us or something?"

Emily didn't respond since she got the same type of treatment when trying to help Crabbe and Goyle. Pansy had gone up to her and told her to back off.

She looked hurt, but left them be, and had moved on to help another Slytherin, who hadn't pushed her away, but had eyed her strangely. Not in a rude manner, but more of a curious one, as if she were from a different planet. She must have taken it as a rude gesture from the way her eyes didn't meet his when she handed the lock back.

"Well..not all of them," said Emily. "That girl was nice to help us out with the other students."

Hermione beamed when she heard that, but quickly acted as if she hadn't been listening along with rest when Emily and Andrew turned around after stopping in front of an ordinary looking door.

"Well here you are guys, your first class" Andrew said, with fake enthusiasm.

"Have fun," Emily said, and opened the door for them. She waved goodbye to Hermione as she entered, as well as Neville who blushed a crimson red.

Harry entered the room, wondering what the teachers and classmates would be like.  
As his eyes adjusted to the room, he could make out sets of computers everywhere. It was an enormous room filled with a lot of equipment.  
They also had shelves stocked with what looked like recent projects of model robots, remote-controlled cars, and other complicated looking devices. Harry hoped they wouldn't have to build any of that, they looked far to advance from his knowledge of technology, let alone the wizard's since birth.

He looked around and saw that there where about 20 students in the classroom, each seated at a computer table eyeing them with interest.

Most had a polite and welcoming face except for a couple different groups. The one Harry had recognized as cheerleaders were pointing and giggling at their clothing. Harry of course guessed this might be an issue since wizards didn't fully understand muggle fashion. A tall black-haired cheerleader near the front of the class rolled her eyes when seeing Harry's clothing. Dudley's hand-me-downs weren't exactly fashionable.

A long grey haired woman looked up from her board. It didn't seem to be an ordinary board. It seemed a lot like a television or computer screen. She seemed to have written on it with a pen that contained no ink.  
It was almost as if the simple touch of the pen activated a tool on the computer-like device. The top of the board had sign that read '**Active** **Board**'.

The woman eyed the students and smiled. She seemed to be in her late twenties. The grey color in her hair looked more like dye. She dressed in businesslike clothing with a bright neon tie.

"Oh hello there!" she greeted. "You all seem to be a bit late," she laughed.  
She didn't seem like the strict type by the way she took their tardiness so lightly to (Harry's relief).

"Class," she said "these are the exchange students us teachers have talked so much about. you are to treat them kindly and not draw on their faces if they happen to fall asleep in my class," she instructed.  
Most students laughed. They all guessed it must be some type of inside joke.

"Don't worry, I've already been informed that you guys haven't worked much with computers, and any questions you have I'll answer" she smiled.

The same black-haired cheerleader cackled. "What are they cavemen?" some students laughed, some glared at her, but most kept quiet.

The teacher shot a warning look at the girl. "Amber, we wouldn't want detention today now would we?"

Amber rolled her eyes, but said no more.

"Now how about you all introduce yourselves?" The teacher said "I'll call a name out from my new list and you can tell me some random fact about you. Or if you like, just step forward and sit on any computer table."

She began calling the list out in alphabetical order. No one said anything, they just sat down.  
When they got to Harry's name a couple Hogwarts' students were surprised to have no reaction from the crowd when _'The Boy Who Lived'_ stepped forward.  
Harry sighed; he sort of liked the attention not being directed towards him.

Harry sat down in a table near the middle of the room. None of the kids at his table where from Hogwarts, but he didn't mind too much. Ron ended up sitting at the same table. Malfoy sat in the back, and as always, and Hermione in the front.

"Okay new students, this is where you will be sitting from now on," she said "My name is Ms. Ross. And lucky for you we won't be having computer lab today,"  
she laughed.

The wizards looked at each other in confusion and relief.

"You see," she continued "The school is hosting a pep rally in your honor!"

_Pep rally.._Harry had seen them on TV shows and movies of high school. They looked like fun, but he wondered if they really were.

The entire class cheered, along with the wizards, which probably didn't know what a pep rally was. They probably just didn't want to seem out-of-place.

"We still have about 15 minutes until the ceremony, but until then I'll leave you all to socialize and get to know each other." Ms. Ross finished, and laid back, listening to music. _Some teacher_ Harry thought.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note!.**

**Finally vacation! Now I can update more :D . Thanks for all the reviews! love y'all!**

**WARNING!: high school stereotypes! (Mean cheerleaders/jocks. Nerds, emo e.c.t). I'm not stupid, I know not all cheerleaders are mean, and not all emos are depressing. I am only using stereotypes to make the story more interesting, and have the school differ from Hogwarts, so try not to be offended.**

* * *

There was an immediate outbreak of chatter in the room.  
Most wizards shrank back in their seats timidly. A blonde boy with freckles at Harry's table was quick to introduce himself.

"Hi, I'm Mike," he said leaning back. "What where your names again?  
Harry ..something, and Ron Weasel, right?"

"Weasley," Ron corrected, blushing.

"Harry potter," Harry smiled.

"Hmmm...can't say I've heard of last names like those before," Mike pondered. "Come to think of it, most of you guys had pretty unusual last names," he laughed.

Ron gulped, but Harry laughed it off with Mike. He knew that names wouldn't be the thing that would expose their kind. He knew that Ron was just overreacting a bit. But still, he kept a lookout to make sure none of his fellow wizards acted out-of-place.

Mike received a slap in the head by a short girl with glasses sitting next to him. "Mike!" she hissed. "Be nice!"

"I'm sorry about him," she turned to Ron. "He likes to speak without thinking," she giggled.

"Sounds familiar," Harry heard Hermione's voice as she approached them. "Looks like those two would get along," Hermione pointed out as Ron glared at her.

"I'm Hermione," she introduced. "Hope you don't mind me joining you, the table I was at seemed...a little crowded," she said, and stared back at the cheerleaders.

"Not at all," Mike winked at her. "Grab a seat."

Hermione sat next to Harry, as the girl with glasses introduced everybody. "I'm Linda, and that's Darren," she said, signaling to the boy who was knelt over a sheet of paper, drawing madly.

"Huh?" said Darren, just taking in the newcomers' presence. "Oh..hey," he said timidly.

"What have you got there Darren?" Linda asked curiously. "Another of your Manga sketches?"

"What's Manga?" Ron asked, but quickly retracted. He covered his mouth as if afraid he just gave them all away.

Harry began to panic until he realized that even _he _didn't know what Manga was, but of course (as usual) Hermione did.

"Isn't it one of those Japanese comics?" she asked, knowing she was right.

"Yeah," Linda beamed at her knowledge. "We're _really _into those, but none of us can draw them well except Darren."

Darren smiled at the compliment, but was still reluctant to show his drawing.

"C'mon dude, we've seen your drawings before." Mike rolled his eyes.

Darren hesitated as he handed the drawing to Linda.

Linda scanned the drawing slowly and her eyes widened. "It's amazing Darren!" Linda squealed. "Is it an existing character, or did you make it up? I've never seen this one before."

"I made it up, but I took some ideas from other ones. Robes are hard to draw, so is the hat." Darren said neutrally

"Mind if I show them?" asked Linda.

Darren hesitated then shrugged.

Harry, Hermione and Ron stared at the drawing. One by one, their eyes went wide.

"It- It's..." Ron stuttered

"A Wizard?" Mike finished

"Yeah...I thought it would be different from my usual stuff," Darren blushed.

"No it's not; you're always drawing that fantasy stuff." Mike frowned. "Why don't you draw _zombie _Manga? It would be waaayy cooler."

"What's wrong with wizards?" asked Harry.

"Well, they're too _weird._" Mike laughed.

"Since when are zombies normal?" Hermione snapped.

"Well most of them have been affected by some sort of virus, like rabies." Mike defended. "That's why they attack people, they can't help it. What's the wizard's excuse?"

"Aren't they people too?" Linda asked.

"Zombies, vampires, werewolves _and _wizards all seem like monsters to me," Mike laughed "Who cares anyway? It's not like they're real."

"True.." Linda said. "But I still think they're cooler than zombies," she smiled at Darren.

"So I'm guessing that means you're also going to see the new Halloween movie everyone is talking about?" asked Mike "Isn't it about witches?"

"Yeah..so what?" Linda glared "You're coming too aren't you Darren?" Linda pleaded

"Sure, why not?" Darren said, excitement obvious in his voice.

"Why don't you guys tag along?" Darren asked Harry "The more the better," he smiled.

"Um..." Harry looked at Ron and Hermione to see what they thought about that. Mike caught the move and laughed.

"You're not scared of some lame witch movie are you?" asked Mike. "C'mon even _I'm _going to that freak show Saturday."

Not liking being thought of as a coward, Harry nodded.

_'Wizard! of all the topics to start off a friendship...'_ Harry though.

"After that we can come by my house," Darren suggested. "Video games?"

"Hell yeah!" Mike hooted.

Linda rolled her eyes, as did Hermione.

Harry looked over at Ron and saw his horror filled expression. Harry felt the same way. He knew these kids were raised with the basis of witches being evil creatures, no different from monsters. What if they were to find out? Would they turn their friendship away?

_'They won't find out,' _Harry thought to himself.

"So.." Harry tried changing the subject. "What does your school usually do at a pep rally?"

"Same as other schools," Darren said. "Doesn't your school have pep rallies?"

"Our school isn't the spirit type," Harry answered.

"That sucks," Linda said. "We usually do different things, but I heard there would be a small basketball game between the seniors and some teachers."

That got Ron's attention. Harry was sure he'd never heard of basketball.  
Ron finally seemed excited for something at this school. Harry smiled and began to wonder if he and his friends might join any clubs.

The chatter between their new-found friends continued. Even Ron began to join the conversation. A couple of minutes passed, and Harry heard The cheerleaders leave the room to get ready for the pep rally.

Everything seemed well until a scream was heard. It echoed in the direction of the hallway. It didn't sound like your typical scared-from-prank scream. It sounded more like the horrified scream Harry was only too familiar with. A couple of people stood up to see what had happened.

A dark-skinned cheerleader bursted into the room with a panicked look on her face. She looked like she'd just seen a ghost.

"M-Ms. R-Ross!" she cried. "It's Am-mber!"

Ms. Ross tried to calm the girl. "Ajah, breath," she tried. "Where is Amber, what happened to her?" she asked.

"Sh-he was walking out of the girl's bathr-room with me, but then she stopped," Ajah cried. "There was blue light, she looks l-like she was tasered, but she just froze." Ajah finished.

"Show me where Amber is, Ajah," Ms. Ross said calmly.

She walked out of the room with Ajah, and a couple of students followed. Harry and his friends rounded the corner and found a still Amber on the floor.

Her eyes where the only thing that seemed to be able to move, and Harry could see the tears as they spilled over her face.

"Someone go get the nurse!" Ms. Ross ordered.

A couple of students ran to the nurses office, while others stared at Amber in awe.

Ms. Ross leaned over Amber.  
"Amber, honey" She tried. "Can you move at all?"

Not an inch of her lips twitched in reply. She could only shut her eyes as more tears spilled over.

A murmur broke out among the crowd as to what could be wrong with Amber.

"Maybe it's Paralysis," Linda whispered.

The others shook their head; they had never seen anything like it. The new students stayed back, they knew perfectly well what was wrong with Amber, so did Harry.

This was no work of a muggle illness. Someone had used the Petrificus curse on Amber.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note:**

**First off, I would like to thank MoonGCyn for editing and giving feedback on my story. She is a GREAT beta, and writer. Try checking out some of her fanfics, they are really good.**

**I hope you guys continue to enjoy my story.**  
**Thanks for the reviews, follows e.c.t..! Love y'all! (like really, you have no idea how happy reviews make me )**

* * *

They carted Amber off to the nurse's office. The students had been left in an ominous silence in the dimly lit hallway. Ajah burst into tears breaking the silence, and not long after, the murmurs broke out. The other cheerleaders had come back from the girl's room and comforted Ajah, trying to get her to stop crying before she ruined her makeup.  
After standing around where the scene took place, whispering and talking in confusion, the students where lead away as Ms. Ross who ignored the protest from the other cheerleaders who strongly wanted to see Amber.

As soon as they were back in the comfort of Ms. Ross' classroom, questions from the cheerleaders started towards Ajah, fast like bullets in war. Everyone pretended to be caught up in their own conversation as they listened intently to Ajah's tearful answers.

"We were just walking back, talking about our big stunt," she cried. "She just froze in mid spot. I thought someone had electrocuted her, but she hadn't even twitched an inch," she wept, as an endless flow of tears mixed with black mascara trickled down her face.

"Then why would you think someone had electrocuted her?" Linda asked.  
Realizing she had addressed one of the cheerleaders, she shrank back. They acted as if they hadn't heard her, but stared at Ajah expecting an answer to the obvious question.

"I thought she was electrocuted because...there had been... a light," she explained, knitting her eyebrows together as if trying to make sense of it. "It was like lighting, and then she was on the ground."

Ajah began to break into tears, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get any more information out of her.

_'This can't be happening..'_ Harry thought. His heart was beating so loud, almost like a hammer against cloth. He was sure all the muggle students could hear it, and would begin pointing fingers.

Ron's face had gone pale white as well as Hermione's when they heard what Amber had seen. There were no doubts in their minds that wizards had been at work here.

"Are you guys alright?" Darren asked, seeing the panic streaked faces of his new-found friends.

"F-fine," Ron answered, faking a smile. Darren didn't look convinced, but just shook it off, figuring they were just shook up from the last hour.

"I hope they don't cancel the pep rally," Mike sighed, facing away from the group.

"Mike!" Linda scowled. "Is getting out of class all you care about? Amber could be really hurt!" she hissed.

"I'm aware of that captain obvious," Mike shot back. "But that doesn't change the fact that we have history next hour."

"hey guys..." Darren whispered. "Anyone else notice ho-"

_Beep..._

"_Attention exchange students," _A voice came all around the room.

Ron, and a couple nearby wizards gave a bit a of a jump.

"Ron," Hermione sighed. "It's just the intercom."

"_You are to report to a unscheduled meeting with your teachers.  
You are to look at your map where your ...old school lessons were to take place." _The voice from the intercom paused, as if not knowing what 'old school lessons' meant.  
The Hogwarts' students caught on to the message, and intently waited for her to continue.

However, she did not continue right away. There was a peculiar pause before she continued to read the instructions. Her voice was all too confused when she read the last line.

"_Bring no outsider to the room." _She finished.

_Beep..._

The intercom turned off.

_'Bad choice of words.'_ Harry though, as they received some confused looks from muggle students.

Harry, along with the rest of the fifth years stood up and gathered their stuff, but just before they could leave, there was a loud clank, almost like that of a pencil hitting the ground.

Harry turned his head slightly to find Neville scrambling to pick up a small wooden stick.  
_'His wand,' _Harry thought, panic rising. All of the other wizards had already left the room, except him and Neville. Harry looked around wildly ton see if anyone had been staring.

Harry let a small sigh of relief when he noticed none of the muggles had taken notice of slight incident. "_Neville," _he hissed. "_B__e more careful." _  
He swiftly rushed Neville out of the room after tucking the wand back in Neville's bag. Before he could cause any more accidental damage, Harry zipped the bag tightly.

Harry glanced back just before leaving and noticed was a short dark-haired boy in the back corner of the room who had curiously watched the whole scene displayed in front of him.

The panic streaked look that had been on Harry's face had made him a bit on edge. He stared at the door where Neville had left, as if picking at his memory. Eyes widening, he glared at Harry.

'_the wand,' _Harry thought, running out the door. '_He knows what it is.'_

* * *

**Author's note: SORRY... I know I haven't updated in a while, I just kind of went through some minor writer's block.**

**Hope this chapter doesn't suck too much. Please let me know if my characters seem OOC.**

**Regardless, I hope you guys liked it, and please review **


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update xc...school and stuff.**

Thankyou if your still reading this story, especially to those who leave reviews! XD

**And thanks to LadyKeyes, the story now has better grammar/spelling. Thankyou! **

* * *

The students analyzed the map intently and followed its path until arriving at an old door that resembled an old janitor's closet. They opened the door to find exactly that.

Hermione stepped to the front of the line, ordering students to keep a lookout. Once they gave her the all clear, she shut the door once more, tapping on the doorknob with her wand three consecutive times.

She then opened the door once again to discover a hallway resembling one at Hogwarts, complete with lit torches. The peculiarly built hall seemed to be made up of several doors, each which they assumed would lead them to different classrooms.

The students walked in, and quickly closed the door behind them. Hermione, yet again, did the same wand code on the door, making sure no muggle would find this wizarding hall.

The students sighed with relief at the secure Hogwarts-like surroundings, feeling able to breathe easy and not feeling the suspicion of being observed by the muggles.  
The secure feeling didn't last long though, as they heard a door slam open to reveal a flustered-looking McGonagall, and Charity Burbage.

It hadn't taken long for McGonagall to find the culprit, after a quick wand check was done to reveal the last spell cast by each of the students.

It turned out to be a girl who Harry barely recognized. From the green backpack on her back, all Harry could come up with was that she belonged to Slytherin.  
He had hardly ever had any real confrontation with her, and she seemed to be more of the quiet type. Most students were surprised when it turned out to be her. It hadn't taken long after the wand check to get her to confess.

As punishment she was sent home, and expelled from Hogwarts.  
Every student in the room froze when they heard that statement. Any thought of pranking a muggle students was erased from their minds after hearing the possible consequences.

Even though she was from Slytherin, Harry felt bad for the girl as he could still remember the pain and anxiety he had felt those dreadful moments when he himself had been expelled .

The girl didn't look up; she only nodded indifferently and left the room with another teacher.

After the girl left, the students were told to sit and wait for further instructions in the temporary Transfiguration classroom.

They sat, whispering for a few minutes, wondering if they would be sent back to Hogwarts after this incident.  
Harry learned that the Slytherin girl's name was Agnes.  
The thing that had surprised him the most was not her lack of tears or emotion for being kicked out, it was the bold statement he heard next.

"Agnes," Malfoy whispered, puzzled. "Wasn't she a muggle born?"

"Yeah," Pansy whispered back . "It doesn't make any sense at all."

"Students!" McGonagall called as she walked in to the classroom.

She stared at each of the students, making sure she had their full attention.

"The incident that occurred today," she said as she hissed angrily, almost as if in her feline form. "Is to _never _to be repeated again."

"Thanks to professor Burbage we have been able to erase all evidence from the '_security cameras.'_"  
The girl who was affected has already been de-petrified with no memory of how it happened."

The students sighed, but held their tongues as they felt there was more of the announcement yet to be made.

"If there is even the slightest disruption of the on-goings at this school, your wands will be confiscated, and their use is forbidden outside magic class hours." McGonagall finished, and gestured for them to return to class.

As they made their way through the halls, they heard the loud sound of a bell, signaling the release from the classrooms.

They united closer than ever as huge groups of students filled the halls. Each of the groups were like the ones they had seen before, all different and free to be who they were, with no 'houses' to define them and their personalities.

As they made their way back to Ms. Ross' class, they noticed most of the students had gone, except Darren, Linda, and Mike.

"What are you guys still doing here?" Harry asked.

"Ms. Ross said you guys would come back here." Linda answered timidly, eyeing all of the Wizards. "She didn't want you to get lost on your way to the pep rally."

"Sucks that you guys came," Mike grunted. "I wanted to skip the lame event."

Linda elbowed Mike and led the crowded group to the pep rally. Most wizards stayed in the back of the group, while Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked alongside their new friends. Harry hoped the other wizards would break that boundary and start making friends of their own, instead of staying in that tight knit group.

When they arrived at the auditorium, the wizards where surprised to see how a muggle event could look so interesting without the use of magic.  
There where bright school colors everywhere, different sports teams ready to perform, blasting music, and people throwing t-shirts to students sitting in the stands, each with the schools panther mascot on the back.

Harry was tempted to go in, until he realized all eyes were on them. The students seemed curious about the new exchange students. He spotted some other wizarding students in the stands, whose group teacher must have gotten there before them.

They seemed to already be settled down, chatting away with some muggle students. Harry assumed some fifth year groups where doing better with this whole field trip experience compared to his.

The Wizards were eventually all separated as they took their seats in the stands. After a while, some began to socialize with some muggles students and Harry smiled at the fact that most seemed to be slowly coming out of their shell.

He and the remaining students took their seats. Harry ended up at the top middle section of the stands with Ron, Hermione, and Darren. Mike and Linda found seats in the top part, and promptly began throwing popcorn at their heads.

As soon as all the students were seated in the auditorium the pep rally began, staring off with a basketball match between Walker High and another school, Preston High. The wizard students gawked in awe as most had never seen a basketball game before. They cheered in amazement at the player's skillful moves across the court.

They seemed to be mostly surprised at how a game with no broomsticks or magic could seem like so much fun. Harry could only imagine how fast the sport sign up sheets would fill out this year.

He and Hermione burst out laughing at the baffled faces of their fellow wizards as the students from Walker High stomped and clapped singing, _"We will rock you!"_ in a loud repetitive rhythm, only for the students at the opposing stands of Preston to sing back, _"Who let the dogs out!"_howling like mad.

"What the hell?" Ron mouthed to Harry.

After a while, most of the Wizards had gotten the rhythm down, and joined in.

Everyone seemed to be having such a good time and all nerves from earlier seemed to have disappeared in to nothingness.

"How are y'all liking your first pep rally?" Darren called to group.

"It's brilliant!" Ron said back, gawking at the cheerleaders amazing leaps and stunts through the air.

All of the wizarding students except Harry were too lost in the entertainment. They failed to notice a short, dark-haired boy watching them suspiciously from afar.

* * *

**A/N: please leave reviews to let me know what you guys think XD. If you have any suggestions, I'll be glad to hear them :D 3**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Thankyouuuu sooo much to those of you who are still reading this, and especially to those of you who leave reviews! love you guys! hope you had a great Thanks Giving.**

**And thankyou LadyKeyes for editing this chapter and the last other ones  
! hope you guys like it let me know what you think :D**

* * *

The wizards turned to walk to their next lesson, most with new-found friends and awestruck expressions.

Many of the students had already forgotten about the recent event with Amber, and their new worry revolved around what they would be learning in literature. Most 'classic novels' in the muggle world had never been heard of in the wizarding one.

Even though they as people lived together in the same country, their cultures couldn't be any more different. Harry had never been a big reader, and last time he had been in a muggle school he had been too young to read high school level classic books. So now even he was beginning to feel panic settle in as they walked into the classroom.

The room, unlike the other ones, was slightly larger and held more chairs. It had a warm feeling inside; the heat was turned up enough so that some students were able to remove their jackets. The chairs where slightly newer than the ones from the other classrooms they had glanced into. There was also the fresh smell of cinnamon tea in the room, which they soon spotted from a nearby tea maker next to the teachers tables.

The wizards looked around in wonderment as to why this classroom looked so much more well-kept than the others.

As if reading their minds Linda answered, "This is Mr. Short's class room. He's the principal's favorite teacher since he's the only one who managed to raise the student's reading and history average to twice its original expectation." She smiled at Mike and Darren, obviously a part of some inside joke.

"Sounds like a strict guy," Ron stated.

"Actually," Darren said "he's everyone's favorite teacher. We hardly read actual books in this class."

Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Mike rolled his eyes. "We read really long summarys, but it's mostly movies."

The students took their seats, and were greeted by a tall, black haired man. He had an old, but sharp-looking face. Even though they said he wasn't strict, it was like with professor Snape, you knew not to get on his bad side, (except that with Snape, that was his _only_ side).

"Good morning class," he greeted. "For those of you who don't know it, my name is Mr. Short, and I am your English teacher."

"I, unlike some English teachers, do not focus only on books, but on some movies as well. For the last couple of weeks we have been reading the book _'The Devil's Arithmetic_,' but since the new students weren't here to read it with us, I will show all of you the movie for this week and today will only be a class discussion."

"Have any of you new students read that book by any chance?" Mr. Short inquired.

As expected, Hermione's hand was the only one to go up.

Mr. Short gave her an approving look.

"Your name?" he asked her.

"Hermione, Hermione Granger," she said, her eyes beaming at her obvious success of impressing the teacher with her knowledge.

"Well, Hermione, do you mind telling the new students what the book is about?"

Hermione looked at the teacher, too shy to look at the entire class.

"It's about the Holocaust," she said.

The dumb-found expressions on the wizards' faces said it all, as hard as they tried to cover them with indifferent ones, but it was too late.

The teacher looked just as shocked as the rest of the muggles with the discovery.

"Have any of you heard of the holocaust before?" he asked.

When no one answered, he looked at a loss of what to do.

Most of the wizards knew nothing of historical events or wars that happened in the muggle world. Even those who had heard of the Holocaust still did not have a clear idea of what it was. Some had heard the phrase being used in comparison of what happened with You-Know-Who.

"Alright…Well then, since we are beginning the activity like this, I have no choice but to give our new exchange students a small assignment before we can watch the movie this week."

He went to his desk, opened the drawers, and pulled out some old-looking papers. He handed them out to the new students one by one.

"By Wednesday, you are to have read this small summary of basic information you need to know about the holocaust. After that, we will watch the movie 'The Devils Arithmetic' and start on some assignments concerning the film."

Harry looked back at the class, spotting the wizards' nervous glances. He also spotted a short, black-haired boy sitting in the back of the class. Harry hadn't noticed him before, but as soon as their eyes met, he felt the knowing stare burn into him.

_'He knows,' _Harry thought to himself. '_But...there's no way he could know…how ?'_

The class went on, mostly filled with short story activities. Harry knew the short stories weren't hard, but as hard as he tried to concentrate in them, he just couldn't bring his attention to focus on the assignment. He could feel the boy's stare penetrating the back of his head.

When the bell finally rang, Harry began to gather his things, when he felt a piece of crumbled up paper being slipped into his hand. He looked up to meet the back of the short boy's head as he walked out the door.

He opened the paper up nervously, and read six words he had hoped he would never to read or hear considering the events of that morning.

**'**_**I know What Happened to Amber.**_**'**

* * *

**A/N: Please let me know what you think! feedback pleaseee. And...sorry it took so long to update :(**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I'm so sorryyyyyyyyyy...  
I know it took me forever to update (like... a couple months..). I would like to blame writers block, my brain, and highschool.**

**yeah, still not much of an excuse :( .  
**

* * *

**anyway, again :**

**Thankyou LadyKeyes for editing my story, you're awesome ! **

**I swear, i'll try to update more frequently XD**

**All reviews are welcome, positive or negative. Hope you enjoy!  
**

* * *

** Chapter 10**

The free period along with the classes after rolled by swiftly thanks to the comfort of having his wizarding friends with him; Ron and Hermione, and his new found friends; Linda, Darren, and Mike.  
During that time, Harry, Ron, and Hermione, had learned a bit about their new friends.  
For example ;Linda was somewhat like Hermione in the sense that she was probably one of the smartest of her year, and seemed to know a little of everything.

Darren was not only into drawing manga, but he would also write stories to go along with his creations as well. Most which seemed to revolve around '_fictional beings', _which he seemed to have a passion for. Ron seemed especially captivated by Darren's perspective of the beings they'd already encountered were portrayed in his drawings.

Mike seemed to be really into sports, and knew a little about every sport in the world (excluding Quidditch). Not only that, but he'd been on quite a few sport teams at the school until settling for soccer.

Most of the students at the school appeared to be very welcoming towards the exchange students, but of course, there were few a exceptions. Regardless, everyone had already made a couple friends.

Though Harry could not say the same thing for Draco, who seemed to be huddled together in a corner with Crabbe and Goyle, avoiding eye contact with any muggle onlooker. On the other hand, given his dislike for the blonde Slytherin, Harry felt slight enjoyment at his misery, but also partial guilt for enjoying it.

Harry switched his attention to the other students in the cafeteria, noticing that most seemed to be pretty comfortable with the presence of all the muggle students, and only a few seemed to be acting the same way as Draco towards their surroundings.

Harry looked away, pleased at how most of his friends where handling their temporary school.

He looked over and noticed a couple of flyers being handed out to a couple of Hogwarts students nearby. One given to Ron, and then Hermione , he receiving one as well.

_Schedule change:_

_Exchange students:  
_

_Given the 3 hours you are to spend with your school teachers (room 413), you will not attend the last four class periods with the students at Walker High.  
After that, you may return to your dorms, or any after school activity.  
_

_We apologize for the mistake in the schedule._

_Have a good day – Vice Principal James. T Gray._

Before Harry could hide the flyer in his backpack, Mike snatched it away from his hand, earning a scowl from Linda.

As his eyes scanned over the paper slowly, his eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"Private lessons?" he asked. "For what?"

Darren looked up from his sketch pad, eyeing the note curiously. "Let me see," he said, grabbing the paper from Mike.

Harry looked to Hermione, hoping she had an answer as she usually did in scenarios similar to this.

"We don't know," Hermione lied. "I think it might be some extra computer lab lessons."

Linda raised an eyebrow. "For three hours?" she shook her head. "No way, computer lab isn't even a prime subject."

"Wait…" Darren scanned the paper again, he scratched his head in confusion. "Do we even _have _a room 413?"

"Never heard of it," Linda frowned. "We could help you find it though. Want us to come with you?"

"It's fine," Hermione answered. "We...wouldn't want to make you guys late."

Before Linda could open her mouth again, the bell rung. Harry sighed in relief and ran ahead from their muggle friends, Ron and Hermione following close behind.

He groaned, feeling bad for leaving them behind like that. He knew he couldn't risk them finding out about their secret, but he still couldn't help feeling guilty for having left them mid-sentence, and for the lies he knew were to come.

Harry looked over to Ron and Hermione and he could tell by the sad look in their eyes that they felt the same way. He wished it could be the same with his muggle friends as it was with his wizard ones. Still, he worried that if there was some way they _could _tell them the truth, that they would be rejected, just as he had been with the Dursleys. If his own blood had rejected him, then what chance did he have of ever truly being friends with them, or any muggles?

He sighed as Hermione entered the wand code on the door while he and Ron kept a look out in what seemed to be one of the emptiest hallways in the whole school.

They entered the Wizarding Hall, shutting the door behind them, taking in the Hogwarts-like surroundings.

McGonagall stood in the corner of the hall, handing them each a sheet of paper.

_Classes:_

_Date: __October 1, 1995_

_Monday: 1) Transfiguration  
2) potions  
3) elective_

_Tuesday: 1) Astronomy  
2) D.A.D.A  
3) elective_

_Wednesday: 1) History of magic  
2) Herbology  
3) elective_

_Thursday: 1) charms  
2) elective  
3) transfiguration_

_Friday: 1) potions  
2) History of magic  
3) elective_

McGonagall warned them to hide the paper well, and they proceeded to class, glad to have a little breath of Hogwarts back into their lives.

The hours spent in the wizarding hall felt too short far to Harry, and he could tell the others felt the same way.  
To be able to use a wand again, even though it hadn't been that long, was a relief after feeling like a trapped mouse in a maze. The sensation of the magic was so familiar, along with the surroundings of the torches and many moving paintings. It made each of the students feel like they'd never left Hogwarts to begin with. As fun as it was to experience a taste of something new, to know they still had a piece their home left was comforting.

Harry didn't even mind that he had his first two classes with the Slytherins. He actually missed Draco's sneers and glares. The fact that he was acting like his old self made it seem even more like home.

The only thing he hadn't missed was Divination, which he had sadly picked as one of his electives, along with Care for magical creatures.  
He couldn't quite remember why he chose to take that subject, but if there was one thing that The Boy Who Lived couldn't do, it was being a Seer.

"_Look into the crystal ball Harry!" _Professor Trelawney repeated, adjusting her glasses to scowl at Harry for not following instructions.

"Yes professor." Harry sighed, wishing he had taken another elective.

"What do you see dear?" She asked, staring intently at Harry.

"Smoke.."

Trelawney frowned and turned to Ron. "What do _you_ see?" she said, patience slipping.

"Um…" Ron said, squinting his eyes. "It looks like an L shaped object…"

Professor Trelawney raised an eyebrow. "Describe it, dear." she said, taken aback by Ron's prediction.

"I don't know how…"

She eventually gave up and went to assist the next table.

* * *

Once the magical lessons where finished Harry left to find his dorm rooms, followed by Ron and Hermione. The halls, seemed more crowded now that the classes were over. Their ears filled with chatter of homework, gossip, and talk of the new upcoming witch movie on Saturday.

He spotted Emily and Andrew walking out of a nearby classroom. Andrew recognized Hermione and waved. She waved back, blushing slightly. Ron looked at her and frowned.

"What?" she asked slightly annoyed.

"Nothing." he said, still frowning.

Harry walked down the school hall, staring sadly ahead, already missing the welcoming feeling of room 413. The only thing that cheered him up his knowledge of the rooming rules; all wizarding students where to room only with other wizards, in order to have time to complete their homework.  
He was glad, knowing he still had a chance to practice magic outside the wizarding room.

"Turn at left at the corner," said Hermione, looking down on her map. "I go the other way to the girl's dorms."

Harry and Ron waved goodbye to Hermione, promising to meet up later, before 'lights out'.

As he and Ron turned the corner, they met some familiar faces up ahead.

"Mike! Darren!" Harry called.  
Mike and smiled, as they looked back at them. Harry quickly scanned their faces, noticing they didn't seem mad, or even upset about earlier, though he could detect some unease. He knew the more he and the other wizards kept appearing and disappearing out of nowhere would raise more suspicion, but as for now he just felt happy to see them.

"Hey guys," Darren greeted. "What did you guys wind up doing?"

"Just some extra Math and science" Harry answered, having prepared an answer to the obvious question.

"Well that's boring," Mike said, then smirked. "But guess what's not boring?"

"What?" Harry and Ron asked.

"Have you met that kid Cole yet?" Darren asked "He's in some of our classes; black hair, short."

"I've seen him," Harry answered, getting a bad feeling. "What of him?"

"Darren and I saw him in the library," Mike said, beginning to break out I laughter. "We saw him check out like five books on _'Witch Hunting'._" he laughed so hard he was unable to continue.

"We knew the dude was '_not right_'," Darren said, laughing too. "But didn't know he was _this _loony."

Harry gave a fake laugh, his insides turning cold. He gripped his wizarding schedule nervously inside his pocket.  
He could feel Ron go tense next to him, imagining his heart rate was about the same as his was right now. He knew a simple fifteen year old kid couldn't pose much of a threat.

Even so, he didn't want the conversation to go spiraling into witches and wizards again.  
He liked the feeling of having new friends, but the reminder that if they were to ever find out the truth about who they really where wasn't something Harry wanted to dwell on, especially after their expressed hatred for wizards. After all, hadn't they said Wizards were monster, just like any werewolf or vampire?

"Ron?" Darren said, after catching his breath. "You alright, mate?"

Ron looked up, worry slightly leaving his face.

"He's probably hoping we don't get some freak as a roommate," Harry lied

"Actually, an empty dorm is still available" Mike said. "It's next to ours."

Harry sighed in relief, glad to share a room with one of his friends.  
Mike and Darren led the way up the steps to the east dorms.

* * *

Mike and Darren signaled to the door, opening it for them.  
"Welcome to the Walker High dorms!" Darren said, tone overly dramatic.

The room seemed simple enough; bunk beds with dark blue sheets, one large window with white curtains, two closets, hardwood floor, light blue wallpaper , and a bright ceiling lamp.  
The room wasn't especially large, but it was probably just a bit bigger than the average bedroom. It looked like the mixture of a small hotel room and a college dorm.

Once Mike and Darren left Harry and Ron's dorm, Harry began to unpack, placing his Hogwarts textbooks in the bottom of the closet, well hidden under a pile of extra blankets.

When he and Ron finished unpacking, Harry opened the window to take in the fresh air. There was still some light out, but Harry's eyes still looked up at the sky, hopeful for some sign of her arrival.

Almost as if on command, a small, white, graceful figure flew towards the window, landing on Harry's shoulder.

"Hedwig," Harry smiled, running a hand through her soft feathers.

"She bring anything?" Ron asked, opening his trunk.

Harry sighed, disappointed, having expected a letter from Sirius. He really wanted to talk to him and tell him all that had happened so far. He knew his godfather would've had some idea as to why Dumbledore had sent Harry's year here. He was well aware that the Headmaster was behind all this, and could just feel it was all somehow linked to Voldemort's return from last school year, but he couldn't prove it.

"Well..." Ron said, devious smile plastered on his face. "I have something that might cheer you up."

Harry raised a curious eyebrow, wondering what his friend could possibly be up to.

Ron then reached into his trunk, pulling out a long object, which harry would have never guessed could fit in that trunk without the use of some sort of charm.

He soon recognized the dark Ebony wood and Hazel twigs. A smile spread across his face as Ron handed the broom to him.

"My Firebolt!" Harry exclaimed, as Ron pulled out another broom from the trunk.

"I brought mine too," he said. "I heard some guys talking about how it might be safe to fly on cloudy nights when the muggles can't spot us."

"Hermione will murder us," Harry laughed, running his hand through his precious broom.

"What she doesn't know won't kill her, mate," he winked.

Just then, a knock on the door was heard. Startled, Harry quickly placed his broom back in his trunk, and Ron did the same.  
"Sorry, Hedwig," Harry mumbled, as he shooed her out the window. She hooted in protest, but flapped her wings and took off into the evening sky.

Ron walked over to the door, taking one last glance around the room, he opened it, reavealing the confused faces of their two friends.

Mike and Darren stood under the door frame, puzzled expressions plastered on their faces.

"Did we just hear an owl?" Mike questioned, looking around the room.

"No.." Harry answered, trying to sound neutral. "That was just Ron."  
Ron elbowed him, but kept his mouth shut.

Mike and Darren looked at each other, and then shrugged.

"You guys wanna play soccer?" Darren asked, holding up a new looking soccer ball. "We're meeting some other guys down at the soccer field."

"Yeah, sounds fun." Harry answered, looking over at Ron who nodded. "We'll meet you down there."

Once Mike and Darren exited the room, Harry quickly explained the basics of soccer; in such a way that Ron could understand.

The goalie, he explained, was basically a Keeper with just one area to protect instead of three, and the absence of a broomstick.  
The rest of the players where like Beaters minus bats, and again, brooms.  
Finally, the soccer ball was akin to a single Quaffle, which could only be handled by foot.

Ron absorbed all of this information just as quickly as Harry had learned the rules of Quidditch.

Even so, Harry could still feel Ron's nervous aura emitting from him like shadow. Harry gave him a pat on the back.  
"You'll do fine, Ron. It's a lot simpler than Quidditch."

Ron nodded, worry leaving his face, as he opened the door and braced himself for 'Muggle's Quidditch.'

* * *

**A/N: Hope you guys liked it! And remember, every time you read a story and dont review, Voldemort kicks a puppy ...**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **

**sorry it took so long to update :(.  
My school was having 3rd period exams &amp; preparations for it. They finally finished that, so now can post chapter 12 sooner.  
I'm sorry I suck so much at updating.  
Next chapter will be even longer, and have more action (promiseee)**

**hope you guys like it! please review :)**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

A cold breeze cut through the evening air, going unnoticed by Harry and his friends, for they were too busy trying to keep up with the swift foot movements of the experienced muggle soccer players.  
Even though Harry wasn't exactly a slow runner, given that he spent the first half of his childhood running from his cousin Dudley's physical attacks, he still never had much practice in any sports not involving a broomstick.

He had to admit, even though Ron probably had even less practice with muggle sports, he was doing far better than him. Ron's physical abilities were ones to stand out during the game. He was quick on his feet, and almost as swift as Dean when it came to passing the ball.  
Dean, who was indeed a muggle born, appeared to be highly skilled, even more than Ron. Harry was sure that if they practiced more, they would be able to join Walker High's soccer team.

He could hear the cheerleader's laughter as he failed once again to kick the ball, tripping as his bottom hit the ground with a loud thud.

Harry wished that they, along with a large part of the walker high students, hadn't come to witness his pathetic physical display.  
He'd been surprised at first when seeing the large group of people who had gathered around the soccer field. Mike had said most where probably curious to see if any of the new exchange students had any useful talent.

After a couple failed attempts at kicking the ball, Harry decided to sit it out, and wait for the match to be over.  
Walking back to the bench, he received a couple sneers from the cheerleaders and jocks. Harry spotted Draco, Crabbe and Goyle among them.

'_Guess he found a group after all,' _Harry thought, rolling his eyes at the bullies' obvious choice.

Harry spotted Darren sitting on the bench, his usual sketch pad in hand, not really paying much attention to the ongoing soccer game. He smiled, glad that at least one of his friends hadn't witnessed his miserable failure. Hermione and Linda sat side by side, smiling encouragingly at him, though he could see the pity hidden behind their gaze.

He sat next to Darren who barely looked up at his arrival, as he madly erased a large part of his drawing from his sketch pad.

Harry went on, watching the match.

Ron passed the ball to Dean, who made his way through the opposing team. Dean kicked the ball in Mike's direction. Mike ran towards the goal at full speed, his feet moving swiftly through the grassy field, his blond hair looking like a golden blur in the evening wind as he scored the team yet another point.

Harry cheered along with Hermione and Linda, feeling a tinge of jealousy as the whole team high-fived each other, marking the end of the match.

Ron and Mike walked over to the benches, panting and laughing. Harry dug his nails into his jeans as he plastered on his best fake smile.

Darren, finally looking up from his sketch pad, smiled at them. Unlike Harry's smile, Darren's was sincere.

"Great game guys," Darren said, though Harry was positive he hadn't watched any of it.

"Thanks," Mike panted as he reached over to grab a water bottle, handing one to Ron as well.

They all stood up to head to the cafeteria for dinner.

While walking through the field, Ron walked next to harry, leaning over to whisper in his ear.

"It's harder than it looks, not at all like Quidditch."

Harry cringed, feeling slightly insulted, having had Quidditch as his only comfort for not being a failure at all sports.

"How so?" Harry said, trying to keep his tone neutral.

"Well, it more tiring because it's not on brooms, the whole running and passing the ball with just your feet takes some real skill." Ron ran a hand across his forehead, wiping off beads of sweat.

Harry just nodded, not knowing what say. He knew he should be happy for his friend, and how much he was enjoying himself and fitting in.  
Ron had always been so encouraging in everything Harry did, he felt bad for not doing the same.

Thinking on that, guilt began to hit him. He turned his head towards Ron.

"You should join the soccer team, you're pretty good." Harry smiled, this time, a true smile.

"You think so?" Ron beamed.

"Yeah, if I didn't know any better, I would've thought you were a muggle born."

Ron laughed as they entered the building.

He and Harry caught up to the group as they walked over to grab a tray. Harry, Ron, and Mike mostly filling theirs with junk food like pizza, chips, fries and other random greasy foods they came across.  
Linda and Hermione scowled, but said nothing as they walked over to sit at the table.

Harry took a seat between Ron and Hermione, and excitedly began to dig into his food. The chattering began to break out amongst them, mostly irrelevant topics. Harry would've gladly joined in, but his attention was focused on Malfoy who had just walked into the cafeteria.

Harry kept his head down, hoping to go unnoticed. Usually, he would face the bully's taunts head on, but he hated to admit that this time Malfoy _did _have the upper hand.

It was like when they were in Third year, and Harry passed out on the bus because of the Dementors. He knew Malfoy wouldn't let him live that down for the rest of the year; it was the same now after seeing him play soccer.

Harry's luck however, hadn't improved much since then, as Malfoy's eyes met his.  
The blond Slytherin, his usual sneer plastered on his face, made his way towards Harry. Crabbe, Goyle and a couple of his new friends followed.

Harry tensed, causing Ron to look up just as Malfoy arrived.

"Good game Potter," Malfoy laughed. "You play almost as good as my blindfolded grandmother!"

"Stuff it Malfoy!" Ron spat

Malfoy ignored Ron. His gaze remained on Harry as he waved a can of soda in front of his face.

"You can have it," Malfoy said "Sitting on the bench must be so tiring."

Malfoys friends laughed loudly, attracting the attention of some nearby tables.

Harry's face went crimson. He felt his blood boil in hatred towards the bully.

He would've hexed him by now if it weren't for the obvious fact that he couldn't, not in front of all the muggles. Malfoy could sense what he wanted to do. His smirk grew as he watched Harry sitting there, without his magic, no longer the famous _'Boy Who Lived'_.

He felt the strange '_déjà vu'_ sensation of when he went to muggle school around the time when he had to deal with Dudley. The same laughing crowd, the same taunting bully, and the same loser self.

The anger inside him grew as Malfoy opened the soda can and took a sip, starting mockingly down at Harry.

Harry looked at the soda can remembering the day his aunt Marge had come to visit, and he'd accidentally made the cup in her hand shatter after she called his mother a bitch.

The soda can began to shake, a rocket-like stream of liquid hitting Malfoy square in the face.

Malfoy yelped, dropping the can which stayed in midair for a couple seconds longer than it should have before falling.

Harry gaped at the scene, stunned at what he'd just done. He quickly regained his temper before he blew Malfoy up like he'd done with his aunt not long after shattering the cup.

"What the hell was that?!" Darren gasped, blinking slowly. "Did everyone else just see that?"

Darren looked at Mike and Linda who appeared to be just as confused as he was.

Deciding it was best just to play dumb, Harry, Ron, and Hermione just shook their heads in disbelief. Draco did the same, his eyes shooting daggers at harry before he turned to leave. Harry watched him walk out of the cafeteria, knowing he was going to get some serious payback from Malfoy sooner or later.

The rest of the meal was filled with chatter, mostly from Mike, Darren, and Linda talking about the soda incident.

Linda persisted that Malfoy had probably shaken the can, and that the whole floating in midair thing was just a trick of the light. He could hear the doubt in her tone. Regardless, she stuck to that idea.

Darren and Mike on the other hand had gone with the whole 'ghost' theory, causing Harry to internally face palm himself.

Harry and Ron were more focused on holding back their laughter through the entire meal as images of Draco's soda explosion kept passing through their minds. All it took was one look at his bestfriend's face before bursting out in laughter.

Walking back to their dorms, Harry noticed some of the students whispering and pointing at him, wizarding students to be exact.

He figured they still wouldn't stop even after they were at a new school. Ever since Harry told all of them You-Know-Who returned, he'd been marked as crazy and a liar.

It wasn't so much the crazy part that bothered him, but more the whole being called a liar thing. The only people who really believed him were his friends, people from the D.A, and Dumbledore who appeared to be avoiding any contact with Harry. Dumbledore wouldn't even look at him anymore.

Harry ran his left hand across the back of his right one. He could still feel the words _'I must not tell lies' _that had been permanently engraved on his skin. He constantly kept that sleeve down so the muggles wouldn't notice.

His train of thought broke as Linda spoke up.

"Are you guys joining any clubs?"

Hermione shrugged "Maybe, but not right now."

"I'll probably try out for soccer," Ron said.

"What about you, Harry?" Linda asked

Harry shook his head, hoping to find a way to get the D.A back together in this school. Professor Umbridge wasn't at this school, so that gave them an advantage. He could probably just use his dorm and call it a study session.

He knew McGonagall was on their side, so even if she found out, she wouldn't stop them.

All he had to figure out now was when to have the meetings. Something, he thought, could wait until later. Right at that moment of reaching his dorm, he had only one thought in mind; his broom.

After a long day of Muggle School, with only a couple hours of magical lessons, getting on his broom seemed like the best thing to do. He hated soccer, and he knew there was no way to practice Quidditch at this school.

He didn't really mind being here as much as he thought he would've, not with having made friends so quickly, along with having Ron and Hermione by his side. However, that didn't change the fact that he missed Quidditch and talking about magic freely. Those were things that could only really be done at Hogwarts.

Saying goodnight to Mike and Darren, Ron and Harry shut the door behind them.

Harry looked over at Ron who nodded, practically reading Harry's thoughts.

Ron kneeled over the trunk as Harry locked the door behind him.  
Ron pulled out the two brooms, handing Harry his Firebolt.

Just as Harry made his way towards the window, Ron stopped him.

"Wait!" Ron said, making Harry groan.

All he wanted to do was fly at the moment, didn't Ron get that?

"What is it?" Harry asked

Ron reached into the trunk, pulling out two black cloaks.

"We should wear them." Ron said "Fred and George gave them to me after they told me to take our brooms."

Harry could see why, the cloaks where pretty long, with a black shade that appeared to blend in well with the night sky. And if that wasn't enough, they both had hoods big enough to hide their face if they were to ever get caught.

He couldn't imagine anyone besides Fred and George ever being so genius when it came to recklessness.

Harry grinned as he took the cloak from Ron's hand and put it over his clothes.

Ron opened the window and looked down.

"Anyone below?" Harry asked

"No, but you go first."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You afraid?" he laughed

"No, I'm just used to taking off from the ground, not out a window from the third floor."

Harry rolled his eyes and mounted his broom, climbing the window sill. He balanced on it for a second or two before kicking off.

In the air, Harry turned to look back at the room. He spotted Ron on his broom, hesitating on the window sill, deciding whether or not to take off.

"What's the hold up?" Harry asked

"I don't know," Ron said, looking down at the ground below. "Maybe we should do this tomorrow..."

"Ron..." Harry said. "There was a spider on the window."

Ron's expression turned into one of panic.

He pushed off, flying next to Harry.

Harry laughing as both wizards flew higher, taking off into the night sky.

* * *

**A/N: **

**Anything specific you guys want to see in the story? I'll try to look into a few request, though I already have the plot planned out in my head.**

Either way, there's alway a way for me to add certain things to it (parings, scenes, e.c.t)

**Please review :)**

Again, I promise to update sooner.

**Bye :D!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:**

**HAIIII...**

**Ok, first: I'm sorry for the wait. My Beta and I were BOTH busy with life. life keeps people busy. I had a 30 minute power point presentation for Biology (WHICH WAS FLIPPIN POSPONES AFTER I STUDIED ALL NIGHT! T-T ).**

**I also had an eglish presentation on the novel 'The Count of Monte Cristo' (awesome book by the way)**

**Either way, I'm not gonna sit here and list all my prison work *cough* I mean homework...**

**Second: THANKYOU LadyKeyes YOU RULE (my beta) . Literally the best beta ever, with great feedback &amp; suggestions .**

**Third: THANKYOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THE FEEDBACK. (ok it wasnt that much, but I still love you guys :) )**

**Fourth: I'm bored, so I decided we should play a game..  
I'm pretty sure we're all Harry Potter fans here...? Yup**

**sooooo, RANDOM QUESTION! : What Hogwarts house were you sorted into on pottermore ? (leave answers in the reviews )**

**If you haven't taken the pottermore test (or any other sorting test) , shame on you. You should do that..now...(but like after reading this chapter)**

**anyway, hope you enjoy! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Since the first day of school, when his muggle friends had mentioned the Halloween witch film, Harry had felt reluctant to go. However, he'd forgotten about it until recently. Just three days ago, Ron had brought up the upcoming event.

The night of the movie had been in the back Harry's mind for the remainder of the week. Even When Harry was flying on his broom, he still the sensed the mixed feelings of excitement and unease as he thought of the night to come.

He still remembered their feelings of fear and hate expressed towards the magical beings not long after the film was mentioned. Possibly the reason he felt the film was not the best way to hang out with the muggles.

He looked up at the stars. Harry liked the way they would feel closer the higher up he flew, shimmering brighter in the darkness.

Tonight Ron hadn't joined him for his night time trips. Ron and Hermione had both left to buy the tickets, Harry having promised to meet up with them before the film started at midnight.

I'd been hard not to think about the film. Students at the school had put up posters on the walls of it in almost in every hall.

Everywhere he walked, he'd never been far from the big bold letters of '_WICCA'_.

However, most of the posters were student made. The school had prohibited the _Wicca_ posters from being plastered around the halls, given the graphic display of blood on the originals.

Even though Harry hadn't actually seen the original posters yet, he could tell by the way his friends talked about it that it wasn't exactly a '_good witch'_ movie.  
Unlike the other harmless Halloween movies that showed on television like 'Casper', he knew this movie wasn't going to get his friends to like wizards the way Casper made muggles like ghosts.

Harry knew this movie would ridicule his kind, yet he could help but feel excited for the event to come. He'd never actually been to the movies. The Dursleys rarely ever let him out of the house when he was under their care, let alone treat him to anything _fun.  
_

Dudley on the other hand, had been to the movies several times, along with other places harry never had the chance to experience. That being something Dudley loved to rub in Harry's face when he walked out the door, leaving Harry in the confinement of his cupboard.

As exciting as his first visit to the movies sounded, he really wished they'd picked some other film to watch. He guessed it couldn't be helped, having it being so close to October.

Harry felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket. He pulled it out, carefully keeping his other hand on the broom. He was surprised to see a text message from Ron, not having thought he would've managed to get that far technology wise.

_Ron: HaRRT, just gto the Ticker_

Harry paused, rereading the message, trying to decipher Ron's new form of language. After finally understanding what Ron meant, Harry began to type.

_Harry: Ok, I'll be righ-_

Harry yelped, not having realized he'd been descending on his broom. Having been inches away from hitting a big pine tree, He flipped his phone off, making He made his way towards the down.  
Once on the ground, harry turned his phone back on.

_Harry: Ok, I'll be right there  
Harry: P.S… Don't text and fly_

* * *

Harry Ron and Hermione stood in front of the theater hallway, eyeing the large Wicca poster just outside the movie room.

The poster showed an ordinary looking woman, unlike the usual muggle witch and wizard myths.  
The woman was at the center of the poster, no warts or big nose stereotypes. She wore an all-black pointed witch hat which blended well with her short jet black hair. She was dressed in blood red robe, which Harry guessed was probably white, but had most likely been stained with the blood of the surrounding deceased muggles at her feet.

It took Harry a moment to realize that the arrangement of the bodies at her feet spelled the word 'WICCA'.

Hermione cringed as she examined the headless, armless, legless, or just plain bloody mess of people surrounding the witch.

Behind the witch, were other witches and wizards, all dressed similarly, the same cold hearted smile on their face.

"Isn't that lovely," Ron said, shaky sarcasm in his tone.

"You guys gonna stand there all day?" Mike asked, holding the door open. "Or are you scared?"

Harry shook his head and walked forward with Ron. They turned to find Hermione hesitating whether or not to enter.

Just then, footsteps approached. Harry looked back and saw Andrew heading toward the movie door.

He paused when he spotted Hermione. He smiled and waved at her before walking in.

Hermione waved back, blushing as she followed Ron and Harry inside.

Once inside, Harry's eyes scanned the room with amazement. He'd never seen such a large screen. It took up almost the entire wall which was taller and wider than he ever pictured it to be. There were so many rows of seats.

The seats were al cushioned with a dark red fabric, and in the arm rest the each had cup holders.

The room was darkly lit, with only enough light for Harry and his friends to find their seats.

Soon after they sat down, the room began filling up. Harry spotted many students from their school, mostly the muggles though. More light went out as the screen turned on, showing trailers for upcoming movies.

Mike and Darren didn't pay much attention though; they were too busy throwing popcorn at random people at the bottom row.

"Will you guys stop that?" Linda snapped "You'll get us kicked out!"

In response, they began throwing popcorn at her head instead. She confiscated the bucket and got up to sit next to Harry instead.

Harry smiled at her, but it soon turned into a frown as he noticed Malfoy walk in, followed by Crabbe Goyel and some other kids from school. He kept his eyes on the screen, pretending he hadn't seen him enter.

Luckily, Malfoy didn't seem to notice him. He walked hand in hand with Amber. Some of the cheerleaders behind them glared at Amber in slight jealousy.  
Harry figured he never would understand why any girl would ever want to date a jerk like him, let alone an entire group of them.

He guessed it was possible Malfoy was only a bully to Harry and his friends. Probably because of Harry rejecting his friendship during first year.

It wasn't one of Harry's main concerns at the moment anyway. He was more worried about Dumbledore, and why he'd sent them here. He wondered if it was part of a plan to keep the school or Harry safe from You-Know-Who, but wouldn't they be safer at Hogwarts? It was possible they weren't, not with Umbridge taking over the place. Neither she nor anyone at the school seemed to believe him about Voldemort's return.  
He wished Cedric had lived through it, so he could have just one more witness.

"You okay?" Linda asked, snapping Harry out of his train of thought.

Harry nodded.

"You seem stressed." She said "If it's about Mr. Short's assignment, I can help you finish."

Harry smiled politely "It's not, but I could use the extra help" He said "Maybe we could work on it tomorrow?" Harry said, trying to change the subject.

Unlucky for him, Linda was smarter than that and could see right through him.

"Gladly, but what's bugging you?" she persisted.

Harry really wished he could tell her. She reminded him a lot of Hermione, the way she just seemed naturally trust worthy, and the fact she could sense his unease when he'd try to mask it.

"Well, I guess I'm not all that into horror films" Harry said. It wasn't a total lie, but it was far from the truth. Either way, he'd rather have Linda think of him as a coward instead of finding out the truth.

"Oh" Linda said, smiling slightly "That's okay, Darren doesn't like them much either. He's here mostly to get more information for his manga."

"I don't think a movie would give him very accurate things or history."

"Yeah, I guess. But, where else other than books and movies?" she laughed

Harry bit his tongue, holding back an amused smile, wondering how Darren would react if learned he had three wizards right in front of him. _Where else indeed.._

The room around him fell silent as the trailers stopped playing. The Word WICCA appeared on the screen, glowing brightly for a couple seconds, before slowly fading into blackness…

* * *

Hermione had left to wait outside at some point during the middle of the movie. Harry couldn't really blame her. The plot had been quite dark and gruesome from the start. He would've left too had it only been him and his friends, but he was sure Malfoy would've noticed along with the other students from his school which had attended. He wasn't really in the mood to be called a scaredy-cat.

Harry looked over at Ron many times during the film. His face had been almost glued to the screen in horror as he'd observed the reason why muggles feared wizards.

The movie, Harry admitted, had amazing effects. It made the events appear very realistic. The graphic of violence towards the muggles was what Harry knew would be in the back of his mind for a long time, not because it had shocked him, but because he knew it was something the death eaters were capable of.

He knew that was the main reason he had to convince the ministry of Voldemort's return. He wouldn't let him win. He knew he couldn't. If he did, it wouldn't just be his muggle born friends in danger, but his new ones as well. Throughout the film, the faces of Linda, Mike, and Darren flashed on the screen replacing those of the muggle actors.  
He knew they weren't there, but the images wouldn't leave his mind.

Harry was relieved when the film ended, but now felt as though have to become an actor himself, pretending to be another muggle who'd enjoyed it as nothing more than fiction.

Linda stood up and stretched next to him.

"It wasn't so bad was it?" She said, then laughed "Okay, it was pretty gruesome."

Harry nodded, remembering that girl who was lifted in the air by the black haired witch .He'd imagined Linda when that happened. He stopped himself before he remembered the rest.

"Harry, you look pale." Linda said worriedly.

Harry was about to reassure her that he was fine before Mike snuck up behind them with the popcorn bucket over his head, tickling Linda, nearly giving her a heat attack.

Linda's shriek awoke Ron from his trance, the sudden noise making him jump, as Mike and Darren howled in laughter.

Mike removed the bucket from his head, gasping for air as he tried to hold back more laughter.

"Man." Mike said. "I wish I could've seen your face"

Linda rolled her eyes, but laughed slightly at the remains of popcorn now stuck to Mike's hair. "I'm going to go check on Hermione." She said, walking ahead of them.

Harry and Ron walked a little further behind the group.

"That was…bloody" Ron said

"Yeah, let's just go grab some pizza or something nearby." Harry sighed, opening the door to welcome the night air and shimmering stars.

The stars seemed somewhat duller than before. Harry couldn't exactly understand how, but the sky just seemed darker, as if a shadow had drifted over the stars. The air around him felt thicker, as if he were suddenly unable to breathe right.

The feeling was familiar to him, but he couldn't place it.

Harry tried to get his mind of the feeling by joining into the conversation about Darren's new ideas for his manga. The sensation , however, only seemed to increase.

"There's a fast food place around the corner" Linda said, as she pointed her thumb over her shoulder. Her voice sounded different, sad almost.

They turned the corner, arriving at an alley. It was dark there, and the deeper they went, the colder it got.

Harry remembered feeling this way before, his eyes widening in realization.

"Guys" He said urgently. "Let's head the other way."

Harry looked up at the sky, watching them ascend in horror. Their dark aspects and black cloak covering their soulless being.

Hermione and Ron looked up too, eyes widening in understanding.

Linda, Mike, and Darren looked up. Their expressions remained one of confusion.

Linda was one of the first to feel the effects. Harry watched as her face drained of color, eyes filling with tears.

"Linda?!" Darren said, slightly alarmed "Why are you crying?"

Linda rubbed "I don't know..." she said, as more tears streamed down. "I don't feel so good."

Mike shivered, putting an arm around her. "It's so cold here, almost like winter."

The Dementors descended lower, one making its way toward Darren. Had the muggles not been here, Harry would've used his Patronus charm ages ago.

"Move!" Hermione ordered, grabbing Mike and Linda's arms, dragging them out of there.

Harry watched as the Dementor closed in on Darren, the close proximity affecting him. While muggles might not be able to see Dementors, they could feel their presence. The soul sucking fiends causing all feelings of depression, despair, and sorrow ever witnessed to return all at once, like a dark shadow of the past.

Darren swooned and collapsed to the ground with a loud thud, eyes fluttering shut.

Harry quickly checked the surrounding. Not spotting Linda and Mike anywhere in sight, he ran over to the Dementor, pulling out his wand he kept safely tucked inside his left sock.

"_EXPECTO PATRONUM_!" Harry yelled, pointing his wand fiercely at the soul sucker.

The silver stag burst out of Harry's wand. The Dementors vanished, leaving Harry panting for breath, as he ran over to Darren.

Darren was sprawled the ground, eyes closed, color slowly returning to his cheeks.

Harry sighed in relief as he tried not to think about how close his friend had been to receiving a Dementor's kiss. He tucked the wand back in his sock. Harry had purposely worn his socks knee length, knowing the dangers of leaving school would have. He and his friends were never safe anymore, not since last school year after the Triwizard Tournment.

With his wand out of sight, he called for help.

* * *

Mike had been the first to arrive at the scene, soon followed by Linda, Hermione, and Ron.

Mike looked wildly from Darren to Harry, running over to Darren's side.

"Darren!" He called, shaking him slightly. "What's wrong, what happened?!"

"He fainted" Harry stated, keeping his voice calm.

"B-but what about that light, and h-how..?" Mike stuttered, looking at Harry.

"Let's get him off the ground first and back to school" Harry said, putting a hand on Mikes back.

Mike seemed to calm down a little after hearing words of reason. He nodded, lifting Darren from the ground.

Linda walked side by side with Mike, trying to reassure him that Darren would be fine. Other than that, not much was said during the walk to school, no questions were asked and no fingers were pointed. However, Harry could already sense the pending questions to come.

_Why did he faint?_

_What was that light?_

_Why had Hermione dragged them out of the alley?_

He just hoped that when those questions were asked, he would be able to answer with a believable lie.

Arriving at the infirmary at two in the morning hadn't been in their plans for their first week at this school. They laid Darren down on the infirmary bed, letting the nurse attend to him. According to her, Darren was fine besides having obtained a couple scrapes from the fall.

Even though he was bound to wake up soon, the nurse still insisted that he stay overnight. She handed them a hospital gown which Mike and Harry helped him into.

They left the infirmary not long after, heading back to their dorms. The questions Harry had been expecting didn't come. He figured they were all too tired from the recent events. He kept his guard up, knowing tomorrow he would be bombarded with them.

Ron and Harry said goodbye to Mike, shutting their dorm door. Not bothering to change out of his clothes, Ron slipped into bed, falling asleep within seconds. Harry locked the window and shut the blinds, feeling the Dementor's cold breath fresh within his memory.

He changed into his nighttime sleep robe he'd brought back from Hogwarts. Harry wished he was there now instead of here, knowing his muggle friends would be safer if he wasn't around.

He crawled in bed and closed his eyes, knowing his dreams about Voldemort would return once more.

* * *

Harry had woke up screaming several times during the night, this time his dreams not including only Voldemort, but his muggle friends as well.

Each time he had woken, his scar felt as if it were on fire. He'd remembered this feeling before, from the Triwizard Tournament. Even though the pain wasn't as strong as it had been then, it was enough to keep him awake for a good five minutes before it passed.

At some point during the night, Ron had put a silencing charm around his bed. Harry felt guilty for having woke him, but blamed Dumbledore. If the headmaster had just kept them at Hogwarts, he would feel safer, and his muggle friends wouldn't be in now constant danger.

Having not obtained much sleep that night, Harry hadn't had the time or energy to come up with good excuses for yesterday's incident.  
He guessed their main worry was the Patronus. He was hoping Hermione had come up with something better than the whole 'trick of the light' answer. Harry knew the light did strange things, but you'd have to be really gullible to believe it could make you see a giant silver stag.

Heading to breakfast, Harry and Ron spotted Hermione, looking pretty tired herself.

"Hermione!" Ron called.

She turned around, waiting for them to catch up. She pulled them to the side of the hallway, away from earshot.

"They didn't see." she whispered.

"You mean the Patro-"

"Shhhh!" Hermione hissed, clamping a hand over his mouth. She looked round cautiously. "No, they didn't see it."

"How did they not?" Harry said, taken aback by her strange behavior.

"They were out of the alley" She explained "All they really saw was a lot of light."

"Then what's the problem?" Ron asked

"I joined the newspaper club" She said worriedly.

"Oh, well that is a problem" Ron said, slight sarcasm in his tone.

Hermione rolled her eyes, pulling out an article. "They handed these out to the students this morning"

She handed Harry the paper, hands shaking slightly.

He read the front page, eyes widening in horror.

'**WITCHES ON CAMPUS'**

**Mysterious flying object thought to be a witch was spotted near campus grounds yesterday night **

Right next to the description was a picture showing a blurry looking figure flying through the trees.  
Even though the picture was of poor quality, Harry could still make out the human figure floating in midair on what looked like a broom… _His _broom_… His _Firebolt.

* * *

**A/N: YES, I left all of you in suspence.. i'm sorry. *cough* not sorry.**

**don' worry, I'll post the chapter soon.. (probably..). **

**Soon there shall be summer vacation, so I'll update more frequently (unless writer's block attacks... but i'll fight it back with big %ss club of determination...hopefully)**

**But for now, i'm stuck studying for finals T-T . I'll post it as soon as I can though. PROMISEEEE**

**Please review, and thankyou for reading.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: HAI!  
****I can't stress enough how many times I reposted the edited version of this chapter (computers hate me).**

**Thankyou sooooo muchhhhh for the reviews! YOU GUYS ARE THE BEST!**  
**I'm sorry the wizards haven't been spending as much time with the muggles as you were expecting (they will, I promise).**  
**And...well: Please review to let me know what you thought of this chapter (or the story in general). How's my writing? Have I improved? I'll get better at updating...seriously ..hehe**  
**I'm sorry for the short chapter, I wrote it durning the time I was studying for finals. (studying: students + dying).**  
**Also, I couldn't think of a better place to end the chapter.**

**Regardless, I hope you enjoy :)  
P.S: Thankyou LadyKeyes for editing it.**

* * *

**'WITCHES ON CAMPUS'**

**Mysterious flying object thought to be a witch was spotted near campus grounds yesterday night. "They descended so fast into the forest, nearly hitting a tree," says school newspaper photographer Cole Quinn, "I saw them fly towards campus next!"**

**However, there is no other picture to prove where the mysterious object headed next. The only witness believes it's a student who attends campus. With no more evidence on this subject, we are left with an intrigue: Are there evil beings disguising themselves as ordinary students on campus?**

This was bad. This was very bad. Not only would this affect their stay here, but it could also jeapordize Harry's stay at Hogwarts. He had already almost been kicked out of Hogwarts at the beginning of this school year when he used magic to save Dudley from the Dementor.

At least then he'd had a good excuse to save him from expulsion, but now it was all on him and his recklessness.

He could feel Hermione's disappointed glare on him as he handed the article to Ron.

"Harry, how could you?" she began, "You put us completely at risk, along with the rest of our kind!"

Harry scratched his head, trying to think of an excuse. He knew he'd messed up whenever Hermione began using her disappointed mother attitude on him. Usually it was comical, but usually it was Ron getting chewed out, not him.

Sure, he knew he deserved it, but with such poor sleep last night, and the incident with Darren yesterday, Harry wasn't in the best of moods.

"Well, um… at least you can't tell it's me in the picture?"

"Harry, that's your Firebolt." Hermione said, tapping her foot impatiently.

"Yeah, but the muggles don't know that."

"They might not, but everyone at Hogwarts knows that you're the only one with a Firebolt." Hermione said, suddenly losing the disappointed mother act to be on the verge of tears. "You can't get kicked out Harry, you just can't."

Hermione buried her face in her hands. Ron sighed, exhausted as well, and walked closer to her.

He put an arm around her shoulder, trying to calm her down.

"It's okay Hermione," Ron assured her as he pulled her into a side-hug, "McGonagall would never kick Harry out of Hogwarts; she knows it would put him in too much danger."

The brightest witch of her age shook her downcast head as she tried to compose herself.

"Besides, it's a school newspaper, no one would take it too seriously," Ron finished.

"Umbridge would." Hermione said, finally looking up. "She would do anything in her power to make sure Harry is expelled."

Harry nodded, reaching over to wipe away the remaining tears on her cheeks.

"That won't happen," Harry, sounding more confident than he felt, tried to assure his friend. "She's still stuck back at Hogwarts either way."

"Did you forget?" Ron said. "Draco is like her puppet; once he reads it, he'll send her an owl."

Harry crossed his arms and bit his lip, thinking the situation over. All of his usual conflicts with Draco had been either physical or with wands, and typically just between the two of them. It had never been something that could potentially get him expelled. Harry knew Draco had the upper hand now, and that as soon as the Slytherin got his hands on the evidence, he was doomed.

Fighting fire with fire. That's how he'd 'resolved' all his conflicts with Malfoy. But the fire had always been punches, kicks, spells, or hexes. If he used that type of technique it would only make matters worse. Harry needed something he could use against Malfoy. Something that would make him think twice before sending that photograph to Umbridge.

"Harry?" Hermione said, waving a hand in front of his face. "What are you thinking?"

Harry smiled gleefully. "I'm thinking…I'm glad you joined the school newspaper."

* * *

Harry had kept his eyes on Draco throughout breakfast. At first, he'd been unsure if the snitching little brat had read the school newspaper yet. In spite of the entire cafeteria buzzing about the picture, it seemed as though luck was on Harry's side as Draco appeared oblivious to the subject as he chatted away with Crab and Goyle.

However, Harry knew his luck wouldn't last as Amber approached Draco, newspaper in hand.

At first it had just been her bubbling over the cheerleading article which featured her front and center. Draco merely looked over the picture, hardly regarding the article. That is, until she closed the newspaper, revealing the front page.

Harry observed Draco's eyes widen as he snatched the paper from Amber's hand.

His eyes scanned the picture carefully, his expression turned into one of wickedness. He smirked, handing the paper back to Amber, his eyes searching for Harry.

It didn't take him long. Malfoy glared at him, and Harry returned the gesture.

Draco finished his breakfast and left with Amber. Harry waited a while before going after him, Ron and Hermione following a bit further behind. The hallway was less crowded than usual, most students seemed to visit home on Sundays or spend the day sleeping in. It didn't take long for Harry to hear Draco and Amber chatting around the corner.

Even though they were out of sight, Harry, Ron, and Hermione hid behind a row of lockers.

"Why do you want that article so bad?" Harry heard Amber's voice ask. "You don't actually believe in that nonsense, do you?"

"Amber," Draco growled. "Just hand it over."

There was a long pause before Harry heard the sound of paper being torn.

"Fine, but I keep the cheer article."

"Do whatever you want." Malfoy's voice replied as the sound of paper being shoved into a pocket reached the ears of the three eavesdroppers.

"Draco," Amber said hesitantly. "Why are you so...mean?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm your girlfriend, but you're always so cold towards me!" Amber's voice broke a little at the end.

"Do you even like me?"

"Of course I do."

Harry could tell he was lying. Even though Amber didn't know, it was the same tone Draco used around teachers whenever he tried to get Harry in trouble. It sounded as sincere and truthful as ever, but Harry knew better. He wondered what Draco's true motives for dating Amber were.

Whatever they were, Harry knew it would only benefit his side of the relationship.

It was just like Draco to use people to get what he wanted, he was a true Slytherin.

"Really?" Amber said, not sounding fully convinced. "Then kiss me."

This is it, Harry thought.

If Hermione took that photo, he would be saved.

The famous pureblood Malfoy, kissing a muggle. _This is the new fire I'll burn you with, Malfoy_.  
Harry's hand slid in his bag, pulling out the invisibility cloak. He handed it to Hermione, signaling for her to ready her camera.

Hermione leaned over and whispered something to Ron. He nodded and slowly slid behind the row of lockers on the opposite side of the hall.

Harry wanted to ask what that was all about, but knew there wasn't much time.

She stood up, draping the cloak around her and the camera, leaving only the transparent lens uncovered. Even though the flash might still be noticeable, by the time they realized they were being photographed, it would be too late. After that, Harry would have to plan to get Draco alone somehow. He knew there was no way he would send that picture to Umbridge, not with his family's name at stake. However, Harry never accounted for the possibility of Draco going a bit farther to protect his name than expected.

Draco leaned into Amber and caught her lips in a simple kiss. Hermione wasted no time in capturing the image that could potentially save her best friend from expulsion. (A fate she seemed to find worse than death.) The light from the camera's flash blinked through the room, startling the young couple.

As soon as Draco had seen the flash, he abruptly pulled away from the kiss. His eyes scanned the surroundings as Hermione backed away cautiously. Regardless, the blond Slytherin had a sharp eye. He spotted the lens before Hermione had a chance to slip away. Malfoy must've assumed it was Harry or one of his friends under the invisibility cloak, given that he'd witnessed him use that cloak before on countless occasions.

Any other muggle or wizard would've thought twice before tackling thin air.

Amber gasped and stepped back as Draco and invisible Hermione went tumbling onto the floor, landing with a loud thud. Once Draco got a good hold on the cloak, he pulled hard enough that even Ron wouldn't have been able to maintain a grip on it.

Harry pounced on Malfoy, pushing him off Hermione. He saw Amber's eyes widen in shock as she witnessed Hermione appear out of nowhere. She took a couple steps back, stumbling slightly, the fear and amazement visible in her eyes.

Harry had barely begun to think of how he would explain that to her before the matters became infinitely worse.

As Draco made another lunge for Hermione in attempt to smash the camera, Ron was quick to act.

_"Petrificus Totalus!"_ Ron shouted, pointing his wand at Malfoy.

Unluckily for Ron, he dodged it, pulling out his own wand from under his sleeve.

_"Expelliarmus!"_

Ron's wand went flying across the hall, landing near Amber's feet. She fell backwards, her face pale. Her eyes bulged out as if she wanted to scream, but all that escaped her mouth was a minor choking sound. Amber scooted away from the strange wooden object, clasping a hand over her trembling lips.

Harry cursed as Malfoy snatched Hermione's camera.

_"Reducto!"_ shouted Malfoy, as he tossed it in the air at almost lightning speed.

Harry observed the camera exploded into a million pieces, some of them hitting him square in the face. He looked over at Hermione, expecting to see the same look of defeat he had plastered on his face. Harry was surprised to find that she actually looked rather calm, and was nowhere near the verge of tears.

If anything, she actually appeared to be smiling slightly, looking at Malfoy straight in the eyes.

Harry's gaze went over to Ron, who had the same expression on his face, as he twiddled away on his phone.

What the bloody hell is happening?! Harry thought to himself as he looked quizzically between his two friends.

As Ron stopped typing, Harry felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

"Nice try Potter." Malfoy sneered at him. "Guess I won't be seeing you or your team of idiots at school anymore."

"I wouldn't be too quick to send that article Malfoy." Hermione said.

Malfoy looked at Hermione, his eye narrowing. "Empty threats don't scare me, Granger."

"Oh, they're not empty," Hermione smiled evilly. "I guess you should've smashed Ron's phone too."

Malfoy's eyes widened, and so did Harry's, both looking to the phone in Ron's hand.

Harry pulled his phone out realizing he'd received a group text.

**D.A.  
Members: Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Dean Thomas, Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, Justin Finch Fletchley, Parviti Patil, Padma Patil, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott, Lavander Brown, Terry Boot, Michael Corner, Ernie Macmillan, Anthony Goldstein, Harry Potter.**

Ron: *picture*

Ron: Explain later, show no one.

Harry wasn't sure if he was more surprised by the genius plan, or the fact that Ron learned how to use a phone.

"Funny thing about sail phones, Malfoy," Ron said. "They take pictures too."

Malfoy pointed his wand at Ron's phone. "Why you filthy-"

"It's no use." Hermione said. "Our team of idiots already has a copy, each"

"B-but..How is that possible!?"

"Because, Malfoy," Harry laughed. "Muggles rule."

* * *

**A/N: Chapter 14 &amp; 15 are done, just waiting for them to be edited.  
Also, I enjoy seeing you suffer in suspence so... (JK...JK)**

**Thankyou for reading! And remember, every time you don't review: Voldemort kicks a puppy**

**#SaveThePuppies**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:  
HAIII!  
Kinda getting better at this updating thing, aren't I? XD  
Again, like last time, I edited this myself (doubt there are any grammatical errors in it...Feel free to point them out if there are). I'll replace it with the Beta edited chapter later (when it's done).  
Also: THANKYOUUU SOO MUCHH FOR THE REVIEWS!  
I cant express how happy they make me &amp; encourage me to keep writing this fanfic, along with other projects. As I said, Chapter 15 is done, and I'll post it soon after I finish some editing.**

**Hope you enjoy! (and please review XD )**

* * *

**Chapter 14**

Malfoy glared from Harry to the article in his hands, his knuckles turning white from his overly tight grip.

Harry studied Malfoy cautiously, unsure whether he would give in or keep fighting.  
Malfoy narrowed his eyes before throwing a hand up in the air.  
At first, Harry thought Malfoy was going to resort to physical violence.

He stood up defensively, but in the end, Malfoy only threw the article at Harry's face.

"You win this round Potter," Malfoy said. "But if that picture gets out, _anywhere…"_

"You hold your end of the deal, I'll hold mine,"

Malfoy pointed his wand at Harry.

"I mean it, not just my parents; I'm talking Hogwarts and Walker High."

Harry nodded, turning to Hermione.

She and Ron both had their eye fixed on Amber.

Harry ran a hand through his hair.  
If Amber told anyone, it wasn't just he and his friends who'd be in trouble this time, but Malfoy as well.  
He didn't mind the snake getting kicked out of Hogwarts, but if she said anything about Malfoy, he was sure the Slytherin would drag them down with him.

As much as he hated him, Harry had to make sure she didn't rat on him or them equally. He looked at Malfoy, and could tell he was thinking the same.

"What now?" Hermione asked. "I've never tried a memory charm. If it goes wrong, I might accidentally cause permanent brain damage."

"Or erase all of her memories," Ron chimed in.

"That could work," Draco smirked.

Amber's eyes darted madly across each of their faces. Her knees shook as she sank deeper into the realization that this wasn't a dream.  
She was surrounded by what she'd always known as evil, heartless monsters in the shape of humans.  
On top of that, she was alone, defenseless, as they plotted how to dispose of her.

"P-please…" She croaked. "Don't hurt me!

"I'll do anything you ask! I won't tell anybody!  
Just please d-don't kill me!"

Tears began to stream down her face, but she made no attempt to wipe them away. She didn't even seem to notice she was crying, even when the tears began falling to the ground.

Hermione took a step towards her, probably in attempts to comfort her, but Harry pulled her back.

They had fear on their side now, if Hermione assured her that they meant no harm, the fear would be lost.  
There was no way Amber would reveal their secret if she believed her life was on the line.

Not only that, but with a muggle on their side, they could use that fear in order for him to investigate Cole and how much he really knew about them. This could help them protect their secret from the muggles at school. She would be a useful spy and ally during their time here.

Harry could see it clearly, written all over her face. She would do anything to keep herself alive.

He looked over at Malfoy, who nodded. Once again, they were thinking the same thing. Harry was showing more of his Slytherin roots than he'd ever wanted to.

_Use fear..Use Amber?_

Would he really go that far to protect their secret?

It's not like they had any other option. It was that, or a memory charm which could potentially get them in more of mess than they were in now.

Harry looked to Draco, signaling for him to do the talking.

Draco nodded, and soon changed his expression to one of pure hatred tinged with wickedness. It resembled the ones of the witches in _WICCA._

He walked closer to her, pointing his wand straight at her face.

Amber's face turned paler. Harry thought she might pass out, but she simply backed up slowly until she was touching the wall.

"Give us one good reason to trust your word."

Amber paused. She knew if she gave the wrong answer now, it would mean her death.  
At least, that was what they would let her believe.

"I-I could help you!" Amber said. "I could make sure no one at school believes the article!"

"And how do you plan on doing _that?" _Harry asked.

"I'm the most popular girl in school; they'll believe what I tell them to," She answered.

Even though she still appeared terrified, Harry could still hear a hint of smugness in her tone.

She was scared enough to say anything to save her life, Harry knew that. Still, he had no proof that once she was safe she wouldn't expose them.

"Maybe so, but we still have no reason to trust your word."

Draco took the hint and lowered his wand, pointing it at her chest.

He sneered. "I don't think you understand, Amber."

"U-understand what?" She said, standing up slowly.

Draco's arm followed her movements, his wand still pointed to her chest.

"You don't understand how easy it is for us to make someone disappear.

"We just say the words and you're gone. You don't even need to be around us for it to happen.  
If I were you, I would think twice before betraying us."

Amber nodded shakily, not knowing how to reply. She seemed to be at loss for words, probably picturing them to be way more powerful than they actually were.

"Good," Draco said, lowering his wand. "I think she's understood."

"Yeah." Harry said grimly.

He felt sick. Even though Amber wasn't the nicest person in the world, he knew what they were doing was wrong.

He could already feel Ron and Hermione's disappointed stare burning into his back.  
Either way, they wouldn't object. If they were going to, they would've done it by now, but they must've realized there really was no other choice.

Now she could convince all the students that the article was a fake.

Ron walked closer to Amber, not even looking at her as he bent over to pick up his wand.

Harry did the same as he picked up his invisibility cloak.

They all turned to leave, Amber remaining frozen on the spot, tears streaming down her face.  
Harry could feel Mike's words from their first day here echoing in his head.

'_Wizards all seem like monsters to me'_

* * *

Harry eyed Darren with slight suspicion. He knew Darren had been unconscious when the Dementor incident occurred, but after all that had happened, he couldn't help but feel slightly paranoid.

Yet, as far as Harry could tell, Darren seemed to be his usual self. He seemed to have recovered from yesterday as he devoured the breakfast Linda and Mike had brought him to the infirmary. The only thing that had seemed strange was when Mike had tried to see his sketch pad. He'd been drawing in it as soon as he awoke this morning. He _was _usually reluctant to show his drawings, but today more irritable than usual.

"Is the nurse letting you leave today?" Hermione asked

Darren nodded, taking the last bite of his breakfast.

Linda made a move to pick up the tray, only to be stopped by Harry.

"We'll take it," Harry said "It's the least we could do for taking so long to get here."

Linda raised an eyebrow, but didn't object.

"We're joining up at the student lounge later for a study session," Linda said "I can help you and Ron with Mr. Short's assignment."

"Thanks, but we actually finished it already," Harry lied.

"Oh," Linda said, slightly surprised. "Well, you could still join us, I could revise it."

"We would, but we to meet up with some relatives nearby today, sorry."

Harry knew he couldn't have looked less convincing, as he fidgeted and looked everywhere but at Linda, Mike, and Darren.

Still, the muggles didn't seem to have noticed. They had simply shrugged as the bid them goodbye.

Harry waved , heading out of the infirmary, Ron and Hermione followed.  
Harry could tell they were mad about him not explaining the sudden plan to ditch their muggle friends and 'visit some relatives', but in his defense, he was pretty mad too. He still couldn't believe Hermione had just completely excluded him from the whole 'D.A. text message' plan.

Hermione had explained to him that she'd only done it to teach him a lesson for his recklessness. He knew she had a good point, but was still pretty irritated that he was the only one with consequences even though Ron had been flying his broom on campus too.

Of course, he didn't tell Hermione that. At least it was a better punishment than her taking his broom away (not that she hadn't tried).

Once they were further into the hallway, out of earshot, Hermione finally spoke up.

"Harry!" she hissed. "Why would you tell them that?"

"You don't actually plan on visiting the _Dursleys_, do you?" Ron asked, slightly alarmed.

"Because, we aren't finished yet," Harry explained "We still have one more witness to take care of."

He hated how cold he sounded as the words left his lips. It was almost as if he were talking about a mere object rather than a person.

"What are you talking about?"

"The Cole kid?" Ron asked "He's the one Mike and Darren were talking about, right?"

Ron's face turned slightly pale as he recalled what they'd said about him.

"The kid who took the picture…" Hermione said, recalling the article. "But he couldn't have seen you, you were wearing a cape."

"Maybe he didn't _see _me, but he knows about us. I wasn't sure at first, but he seems to know more than I imagined."

"What do you mean?"

"Mike and Darren had said he was checking out a book on '_witch hunting',_" Harry explained.

Hermione paused, thinking about the situation.

"It doesn't mean it has anything to do with us." She said "He could've just been caught up in that whole '_WICCA' _excitement."

Ron seemed to relax a little when she said that. Harry ran a hand a frustrated hand through his head, knowing that they weren't seeing the full picture.

"Well…There's something I forgot to mention," Harry said. "The day of the pep rally, he gave me a note."

"A note?" Hermione and Ron said in unison.

Harry nodded biting his lip as he reached into his pocket.

He handed them the note, watching as their eyes scanned the paper. Their eyes widened in shock.

'_**I know what happened to Amber'**_

* * *

The library of Walker high was very different from the one at Hogwarts. It contained a lot less books, all of them placed on newer looking shelves.

Not only that, but it was noisier than the average library. Every couple minutes you could hear the mechanical buzzing sound made by the printers.

Harry could guess it would be especially noisy today, as student shuffled around the library, trying to get their last minute homework done before tomorrow.

There were also a row filled with computers, something harry would never see at Hogwarts. He'd barely ever had the opportunity to explore all the functions a computer had to provide. His only chance to ever use one was when the Dursleys weren't home and he'd sneak into Dudley's room to use his. Harry guessed it was a shame that he, being raised by muggles, never really explored their world. He couldn't help but feel jealous whenever muggle borns talked about simple things like their trips to the movies, arcades, amusement parks, and the list went on.

Harry wished he could use some of this time at this school to explore the muggle library, its technology and literature.  
However, that's not what they came here to do.

Harry's eyes scanned the library until he finally spotted him.

Cole was in the back corner of the library. His face was barely visible as he stared down at a piece of paper, jotting down notes.

"That's him?" Ron asked. "He doesn't seem like much of a threat."

Harry nodded. He'd always pictured people who were into witch hunting to be these intimidating looking humans with sinister appearances. Yet, Cole looked like a simple kid. If anything, he was a bit less than the average muggle teen. Cole was slightly baby-faced, making him look younger than he probably was. And the freckles on his face resembled those of cute cartoon characters.

On top of that, he was probably one of the shortest kids in school.

You would never expect a kid like him to be into such dark studies. Still, Harry had learned throughout his years at Hogwarts that appearances can be deceiving.

"Okay, we found him," Hermione said "Now, what's the plan?"

"We spy on him," Harry said. "Find out how much he knows."

"That's it?" Ron asked. "We just spy on him all day?"

"Well, we can't deny he knows _something.  
_"We just have to find out how much he knows. If he's not a threat, we leave him be."

"And if he is?" Hermione asked.

Her face was tinged with worry as she remembered Amber, and their encounter with her.

"If he is, then we do what we have to do to protect our secret," Harry said darkly.

They walked further into the library, making sure to keep out of Cole's view. They had to keep a lookout for their muggle friends as well. If they caught them here in school, they'd probably assume that they just blew them off because they didn't want to be around them.

Cole looked up from his paper, causing Harry and the others to duck. At first, Harry thought they'd been spotted, until he realized Cole had been startled by something else.

The dark haired boy reached into his bag, pulling out a ringing cellphone.

It looked much more expensive than the ones they were given, with more buttons and complicated looking features. In other words; it was Ron's worst nightmare.

They crawled closer to him, hiding behind a nearby bookshelf. Harry looked in his direction, surprised to see him staring reluctantly at the phone ringing rather than answering it.

That's when he noticed Cole's face. It was filled with fear.

Not as much fear as Amber's face had been before, but it was pretty close in comparison.

He looked hesitant to answer the phone, but harry could see in his eyes that he feared more _not_ answering it.

Cole took a deep breath and pressed the green button.

His hand moved slowly towards his ear, eyes remaining on the phone. Almost as if wondering if it was too late to hang up now.

"H-hello?...Yes, this is his son…"

There was a long pause. Cole only stood there, listening to the person on the phone. Harry wished he could listen to the conversation.

He looked to Hermione, wondering if she could do anything.

She nodded reluctantly.

"I read the spell in a book once," She whispered. "But…I never tried it. What if I hurt you?"

Harry waved her off. "There's not much time, we'll worry about the consequences later... as usual"

She bit her lip, and nervously pointed her wand at Harry's hand.

"_Escuchum!"_

Harry felt a stinging pain in his hand, accompanied by a vibrating sensation on his palm.  
It felt almost as if someone were as if only his hand were suffering slight electrocution.

Hermione sighed in relief; almost as if glad it hadn't blown his hand to bits. She signaled for him to place his hand to his ear.

He did, immediately hearing the conversation as if he were on the other end of the line.

It only took Harry a couple seconds to identify who was talking. Cole's voice sounded as scared as he looked. That, and the fact that he could still see his lips moving from where he sat.

"_Y-yes. I understand."_

"_Good. The meeting will be on Tuesday." _Harry heard a man say.

His voice was gruff menacing. It reminded him of the voice of Professor Mad-Eye Moody.

"_At what time exactly?"_

"_Don't think you can escape us boy!_"

"_I-I wasn't! I was..just wondering!"_

"_W.S.S will be there at midnight," _said the man _"Your father is counting on you."_

There was silence. Harry looked over at Cole.  
He was hesitating, his lips trembling. Yet, despite his fear, he spoke.

"_I'm not sure I can do this."_

"_You mad boy!?" _The man growled. _"You can't back out. These were orders from your father!"_

"_Y-yeah, But-"_

"_No 'buts'! If that picture is true, we're gonna need that address. Or is that problem?"_

"_No, it's not."_

_Address? _Harry thought. _Picture?_

Harry pressed his hand closer to his ear, mouth slightly agape. _They're talking about the article…about us._

"_If that'll be all-"_

"_Wait!" _Cole shouted.

A couple people in the library turned his way. Cole put his head down, and began whispering once more.

"_You're…Not going to hurt him…are you?"_

"_Hurt him?" _the man spat _"Of course not! He'll just be missing for a while."_

"_For how long?" _

The man laughed maniacally. _"Until we exterminate the problem."_

Harry heard the sound of a phone being slammed against its base. The man had hung up.

He could still feel the stinging pain in his hand, but he vibrating sensation was gone.

* * *

"_W.S.S… _What is that?" Ron asked. "Is it a muggle thing?"

Hermione shook her head.

She sat on the floor of Harry and Ron's dorm. Sneaking in here had been easy enough.  
Girls weren't allowed in or near the boy's dorms, and vice versa. However, most people ignored that rule during weekend since most teachers had gone home.  
The few security people at the school usually let it slip, especially if you were wearing an invisibility cloak.

"He also said someone would go missing," Harry said "And something about exterminating a _problem,"_

"Blimey Harry, you're telling me that that scrawny kid is going to kidnap someone?" Ron laughed.

"No, not exactly," Harry replied, yawning slightly. "It was more like they needed him to get the location of the person."

"Why would they need Cole for that?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Hermione said, looking at Ron. "He's probably planning on kidnapping someone in the school."

_In the school? Why would he want to do that?_

Harry looked at Ron; he appeared to have the same bewildered expression on his face.

To add to Harry's frustration, Hermione seemed to have already figured it out, as she stared at each of them, expecting them to comprehend.

"Listen…" She said, sighing impatiently. "What he said about _'if the picture is true',_ and '_exterminating the problem'_ can only mean one thing."

"And that is?" Harry said impatiently.

"Cole is a _witch hunter."_

As soon as the words escaped Hermione's lips, deafening silence echoed throughout the dorm room.

"_A witch hunter_?" Ron mumbled, breaking the silence. "There's no way."

"Mike and Darren _did _say he checked out a book on witch hunting," Harry replied.

"Yeah, but he's probably just some nosey kid! Not a _witch hunter_!"

"Maybe not him," Hermione said. "But his father could be one. Didn't you say these were '_orders from his father'_?"

Harry nodded grimly. This was one of the many reasons he believed Draco would become a Death Eater, even more now that Voldemort had returned. Kids tended to follow their parent's footsteps, even if they weren't aware of it, especially if they had fear on their side. Draco would probably have Voldemort as the source of it, the pressure being too much, causing him to join. From the look on Cole's face, the visible anxiety the possible witch hunter on the other line caused him, it was almost a sure thing he would cave into dark ways as well.

_A 'witch hunter'… _ Harry smiled tiredly. _Add that to the list of things trying to kill me._

"Well, we can't know for sure" Hermione added. "Not until we have enough proof."

"What are you suggesting?" Ron asked "That we keep following him all day?"

"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of attending that meeting Tuesday."

"Sneak out of campus? At midnight!?" Ron gasped.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Hermione?" Harry said in amused disbelief.

Hermione rolled her eyes and got out her phone, hiding a smile.

"What are you doing?"

"Texting the D.A," She answered "I'm going to ask them if they can look up what _W.S.S _is."

"You mean like use a computer?" Harry chuckled. "We're lucky they can use a cell phone."

Hermione laughed, shooting an apologetic look at Ron.

Ron elbowed Harry, crossing his arms. "Shut up, bloody jerks."

Harry smiled; glad to have some tension lift from the atmosphere. He knew it wouldn't last long, not with the (possibly) new discovery. It seemed to be only a matter of time before he would have to reassemble the D.A again.

He'd planned on doing it either way, but it appeared that it would have to be sooner.

Hermione and Ron seemed to think so too, sometimes having asked him about it between classes. The only problem was a good place to have the meetings.

They no longer had the problem of Umbridge busting them for 'Dangerous club activities', but now they had to hide it from the muggles instead. A large group of people practicing magic outside of room 413 was a difficult thing to arrange.

Just he and Ron doing spells within his dorm was easy enough if they locked the door, but about 30 people in Harry's dorm might arise some suspicion.

He guessed he could just hold meeting with the most trusted D.A members until they got back to Hogwarts.

Hermione had taken her phone out again, texting the D.A about their situation with Amber and Cole.

The room was silent once more as Ron finished up homework from their magic lessons, soon moving on to their muggle homework.

"What are we gonna do about Mr. Short's assignment?"

"He only said to read the summary, he didn't say anything else," Harry said, thinking back to the day of their first class with him. Ironically it had also been the day he received the note from Cole.

It had only happened a couple days ago, yet it seemed like such a long time from now.

"That's not what I meant, he's probably going to quiz us on this, and there's no way we can read it all by tomorrow," Ron said, signaling to the massive summary lying on the floor.

Harry groaned. He knew Ron was right, but there was nothing they could do. Linda had offered them help with it, but they couldn't accept it now.

His second week at this school, and he could already feel his first 'F' right around the corner.

Sadly, he had less 'normal teen' stuff to worry about as he felt his phone ring a couple minutes later.

It was a text from the D.A

Hermione was the first to see the text on her phone. Her eyes glazed with horror.

"What does it say?"

Hermione only shook her head, a hand clasped over her mouth.

Harry took out his phone, surprised to find a picture of a computer screen, rather than the straight answer.

The picture was blurry, but you could still make out a symbol similar to that of the dark mark.

It was a human skull, impaled with what seemed to be two sticks..._two wands_.  
The cracks on the skull were visible on each side of the head, making an X formation.  
On the bottom of the picture were big bold letters.

_**W.S.S **_**: **_**Witch Slayers Society**_

* * *

**A/N: Hope you guys liked it!**

**I'm sorry if Harry seemed kinda evil/ OOC in this chapter. I try to keep their personalities in check, but I'm not JK Rowling ...so..**

**Harry: Why is everything always trying to kill me?! T-T**

**Laura: Cuz ur Harry flippin Potter -_-**

**Anyway...I'm not sure what that ^^ was, but I think it's overdose on sugar.  
Please review!...Please...I love you guy! :D  
And i'll update soon... promise **

**P.S: I think this is the longest chapter i've written ! YAY!**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: TOTALLY GETTING BETTER AT UPDATING HUH? (and long chapters...and grammar..and spelling...maybe)**

**Okay...anyway: HAII**

**I'm bored..again. So... Random question game: what part of the world are you from?  
Why am I asking? Traffic stats XD  
****I'm interested how far my fanfic got around the world (probably not far..but still ).**

**For those of you who are wondering, I do have the end of this fanfic planned out (and a sequel if you guys are interested...no? Yes?..maybe?)**

**Anyway: I LOVE YOU GUYS &amp; YOUR REVIEWS OMG :D**

**Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

There was a deafening silence in the room.  
Ron had left with the invisibility cloak to get some of the D.A members to their dorm without getting caught.

Harry was keeping it small; bringing so many people to the dorm would surely get them caught one way or the other. That, and the lack of space.

So far it was just him, Ron, Hermione, Neville, the Patil twins, Dean, Seamus, and Lavender.

This is what Harry called the '_A' _team, also known as the ones who would attend the meetings. The rest of the D.A members were known as the '_B' _team, who would receive the summary of the meeting through text message.

He didn't like to play favorites, but he had to pick the most trustworthy members, those being the ones he knew better.

Harry expected the first D.A meeting to be some simple, enjoyable training. He wasn't hoping for a meeting on the discussion of the possible kidnapping of a student and their likelihood of execution at the stake.

All heads turned as Ron walked in with the last member of 'A' team, Lavender. She took the invisibility cloak off, and looked around the room.

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Geez, don't you know how to clean a room?"

Harry looked around in confusion. Other than a bunch of paper lying on the floor, the unmade bed and snacks all over the table, he couldn't see anything wrong with it.

Harry and Ron shrugged as Lavender muttered something about _'boys'.  
_She took a seat next to Parvati, and the meeting began.

Harry started off by explaining their situation with Amber. Gasps and whispers broke out as soon as he mentioned her having found out about the secret.

They seemed to relax only slightly when Harry explained why she wouldn't rat them out, leaving out the details of what they'd said to her.

Seamus stood up. "So, what if she feels threatened by us? That might just make her call for help!"

Harry shook his head. "I'm not going to go into detail, but you have to trust us. She won't tell anyone. She works for us now."

"Works?"

Harry continued by telling them of their situation with Cole and how Amber could be of use. He could tell they still doubted Amber as they looked at each other uncertainly. To add to their trouble, their faces tinged with a new worry when Harry told them of the phone call and the Witch Slayers Society.  
Something about muggles possibly attempting to murder them called their attention more than the knowledge of a cheerleader.

"So it's decided then," Neville said. "We're going to that meeting Tuesday!"

"Not exactly…" Harry replied "Ron, Hermione, and I will go inside. You guys stand guard in case we…you know, don't come out."

Harry looked around, not liking how the whole _'we might die' _thing was sunk in.

"Don't worry, we got your back," Dean said "They're just muggles after all."

Harry nodded. "Text team 'B' for backup if we don't come out. "Harry pointed to the beds. "Now, let's place them at the sides of the room and clear some space for training."

"So we _are _going to train today?" Padma asked.

"They might be '_just muggles', _but we still have to be prepared."

They cheered up slightly at the thought of training, quickly helping to arrange the room.  
There wasn't nearly as much space as in the room of requirements. If anything, this was giving Harry a newly discovered fear; claustrophobia.

Everyone took turns training, about two partners at a time. The other two teams sat on the beds awaiting their turn, along with Harry who instructed them from there.

Soon the cramped space was barely noticeable as they concentrated on their dueling spells. Laughter began as Hermione blasted Ron backwards against the closet. The force caused the thin wood doors to break, Ron falling in and getting stuck.

After Harry and Neville managed to pull him out, he mumbled something along the lines of '_I let her do it'_.

The damage done to the closet marked the end of meeting. Hermione cast a repairing charm on the closet doors as they all sat around in the middle of the room, attempting to finish last minute homework.

Much to Ron's displeasure, laughter from the incident was still present.

Though, luckily for him, the topic was soon changed to the school.

"I have never been more confused with fashion," Lavender said "Why would anyone _want _ripped jeans?"

"You're telling me. I saw some guys wearing their hats backwards."

"That's the 'cool' way to wear them," Dean argued.

"They look stupid."

"Yes, because robes and pointy hats look awesome," Hermione laughed.

They continued on like that, moving from fashion to music to technology. Most of them seemed particularly interested the popular muggle movies they kept hearing references to (excluding _WICCA_).

_E.T_ appeared to be one that mostly called their attention, yet, not for the expected reasons. Apparently the movie had plenty of bike scenes, which was basically something they never rode before.  
That, and the possibilities of enchanting a bike to make it fly like in the movie. As interesting as that sounded, after crashing a flying car into the Whomping Willow, Harry pretty much tried to stay as far away from magically enhanced vehicles as possible.

"Okay, I'll admit they have better movies, but their fashion still sucks…"

Harry hadn't realized how fast the time had passed. It was almost lights out when he finally looked at the clock. He swiftly rushed everyone out, only he and Ron remained.

It didn't take long for him to fall asleep, just as it didn't take long for his brief escape from reality to vanish as his dreams of Voldemort returned for another night.

* * *

Once again, Ron had cast a silencing charm around his bed so he wouldn't hear Harry's screams during the night. Harry wished Madam Pomfrey were here, she could at the very least give him some Dreamless Sleep potion. He and Ron hurried to breakfast. They had more time this morning than usual. Hedwig had come to visit early this morning, bringing them the gift of obnoxiously loud hooting at 5am.

To Harry's disappointment, she bore no reply from Sirius.

They ran into Mike and Darren on their way to the cafeteria. Harry waved at them, but they only gave him a quick glance before walking a bit further ahead.

"What was that about?" Ron asked.

Harry only shook his head. He stared at them as they walked further into the hall. Darren looked back at Harry, giving him a sad smile. What was going on?

He didn't have much time to worry about it. Amber spotted them as they approached the doors of the cafeteria.  
She walked timidly up to them, Draco a couple meters behind her. He gave a nod towards Harry, slight disgust in his stare. Harry guessed he was still upset about their temporary alliance.

"I took care of the article problem. The principal assembled a team of students to confiscate most of them."

"What about the students?" Harry asked "Did you convince them?"

"Yeah, they most all think it's Photoshop," She paused, looking at Harry. She bit her lip, afraid to ask a following question.

Harry tapped his foot impatiently. "What?"

"That was you in the picture, wasn't it?"

Harry nodded "What's your point?"

"So you can really fly those?" she said, eyes sparkling.

"Cole Quinn," Harry said, ignoring her question. "I need you to follow him around, and see what he's up to."

"The geek with the camera?" She asked. "They already kicked him off the school newspaper."

"It doesn't matter, he's still a threat."

"Why?"

Harry narrowed his eyes, attempting to look threatening. "Don't worry about _why_, just do as I say," he said, raising his tone.

Amber eyes flashed with fear, but other than that, she wasn't visibly shaken. She simply nodded, looking from Harry to Ron.  
She scratched her head thoughtfully before whispering. "You should look in a mirror first."

"Why is that?" Harry asked, taken aback.

She shook her head, her lips twitching upwards in a slight grin. "You're clothes say it all. That geek can try all he likes to blow your cover, but you're doing fine on your own."

Harry looked down at his clothes.

He'd been wearing Dudley's old hand-me-downs since he arrived at the school. They fit him a couple sizes too big, making him look thinner than he already was. That, and the clothes were more of a tween type style than a teen.

Ron didn't look any better. His clothes fit him fine, but he practically looked like the result of someone who went clothes shopping at lost and found. It was a complete train wreck of mismatched pieces of fabric. Of course, most wizards looked like this when visiting the muggle world. It usually wouldn't raise too much suspicion, but given the circumstances, it was more obvious than usual that they didn't belong.

Amber crossed her arms. "See what I mean?"

Harry nodded slowly. "I see, but I don't exactly have time for a shopping trip at the moment."

Amber smiled eagerly. "I'll go afterschool. You can pay me the money back later."

Harry raised an eyebrow, wondering what the sudden act of generosity was all about. Was she trying to get on their good side? Protecting herself was the only reason for helping them, but why go out of her way to do it?  
That's when he saw the slight hunger in her gaze. She wanted something.

"And I suppose you're not doing this out of the goodness of your heart?"

Ron smirked, having come to the same conclusion.

"It's simple," she said, her eyes begging for a 'yes' before she gave the request. "I might even throw the clothes in for _free_."

"What is it?"

"Take me flying on your broom?"

Harry laughed. He half expected the request to be jinxing someone she despised, or worse. He had not seen this one coming.

"Are you mad? I already nearly got expelled for that!"

"You won't get caught! We just have to be really careful about it."

"You saying I'm not careful?" Harry frowned.

Amber rolled her eyes. "Obviously not."

Harry waved her off "It's too dangerous."

Amber pouted slightly. "Pleaseeeee!"

Harry looked at Ron, expecting him to back him up.  
Ron only shrugged "free clothes, mate."

"You've got to be kidding me," Harry mumbled.

Amber looked at him with pleading eyes.

He sighed. "Fine, the muggle gets her first broomstick ride."

* * *

They walked towards the food line, Amber followed not far behind. She beamed with excitement at Harry, something which made him feel uncomfortable. Sure she was still afraid of them; Harry could still sense the tension hidden behind her gaze. Yet, it was almost like it'd been mixed with daredevil excitement to explore Harry's world.

Honestly, Harry could care less as long as she kept her end of the deal. He would have to make sure the fear remained as Amber's curiosity continued to grow.

On their way to a table Draco eventually pulled Amber aside and went to his usual spot. Amber seemed slightly disappointed, but wouldn't dare protest against Draco.

Harry and Ron did the same.  
They found Hermione across from Linda, Mike, and Darren. Only when seated could they feel the awkward silence fill the air. Linda looked down at her food, taking an occasional bite. Mike had his headphones in. Harry couldn't tell if he was ignoring them, or was suffering from his 'Monday morning' effect.

Hermione looked up as they sat down, scooting closer to Harry.  
Harry thought of some way to break the unknown tension. He looked at Darren who scribbled absentmindedly on his sketch pad. "Er… How are you feeling Darren?"

He looked up. "Good," He answered with a genuine smile.

They remained in silence for a couple minutes more before Hermione finally spoke up

"So, um… what's with the silence?"

Linda looked up. "We're a bit tired from homework,"

Hermione frowned. "You finished your homework, though."

"I was helping Mike and Darren with theirs," She answered "_I_ don't lie about my plans."

Darren coughed loudly, sending Linda a warning glare.

More silence continued, the wizards having acknowledged what was wrong.  
Harry didn't know what to say, any excuse at this point would be hard to believe. He looked to Ron, then to Hermione. Both of them just gave him the same '_what do we say'_ expression he had on his face.

"We're sorry, we really didn't want to lie to you," Hermione began "It's not that we don't want to hang out with you."

Linda looked at her skeptically "What is it then?"

Harry had never actually seen Linda angry before. She was always so calm, and friendly with everyone. Even when angry, she didn't exactly snap at them. It was more of an intense flame hidden behind a sarcastic gaze. She hadn't been mad when they cancelled plans with them before because of wizarding homework. She didn't mind excuses, as long as they were legit. Linda did, however, have a pet peeve for lies.

"It seems like you had plenty of time to hang out with _Amber _and her snobby boyfriend."

"We weren't hanging out with them!" Hermione argued.

"Than what _were _you doing?"

Mike put an arm around her to calm her down. It appeared he _had _been listening to the conversation. Harry assumed he'd put the headphones in to have a valid excuse to ignore them.

His face demonstrated a different type of anger. Almost like when you lend a friend a prized possession, them promising to take care of it, only to have it returned shattered. It was more of a broken trust expression.

Darren appeared to be the only one not acting silently hostile towards them.

Harry partially wished they would've found out the truth rather than Amber. At least then he could just tell them he was practicing magic rather than making up excuses (which ironically sounded less truthful).

"Look, I would love to tell you the truth," Harry said "but I can't. I'm sorry."

"_Amber knows_," Linda whispered.

"What?"

"She knows, doesn't she? You'll tell her, but you won't tell us."

"That's enough Linda!" Darren said, standing up. "It's none of our business what they do, quit being nosy!"

The whole table was silent. Linda stared up at Darren, mouth slightly agape. The anger washed away from her gaze. It'd been replaced with shock.  
Darren sat down, having made his point. He looked down at his sketch pad awkwardly, slightly ashamed of the outburst.

Linda pursed her lips, arms crossed. She didn't look like she would say anything for the rest of breakfast, yet Harry was proven wrong.  
After a couple minutes of one of the most uncomfortable silences Harry had ever known passed, Linda spoke again.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Harry looked up, his eyebrows raised a notch. She didn't look mad, or shocked, she looked genuinely sorry.

"Darren's right, I shouldn't be angry. What you three do isn't really my business.  
I guess it can also be blamed on curiosity."

"Curiosity?" Ron asked.

Linda turned to Ron "Well, you guys are always… running off. Whenever there's a homework assignment, you never want to work with us. You've done it on plenty of other occasions too."

"We're sorry too," Hermione said "We shouldn't have lied, we'll make it up to you!"

"How?" Mike asked, interested.

Hermione thought about it before answering "You choose, pick a day and we'll go hang out, our invites."

Mike smiled and winked at her "Sounds like a date."

One of the things Harry liked about Mike was how easy going he was. He wasn't the type of person to be mad at someone for too long. Mike had even been the first to introduce himself to the trio on that first day.

"Okay, so what day?" Harry asked.

"I was thinking we could all just go to Ajah's party on Tuesday." Mike said

"The cheerleader?" Linda asked

Mike shrugged "She's inviting the entire school, even dorks like us can get in."

Harry bit his lip. "How much would you hate us if we told you we can't make it Tuesday?"

Linda huffed. "You can't be serious."

"Guess you won't be telling us about those plans either, right?" Mike laughed.

"Sorry?" Harry tried.

"Whatever, as long as you don't make fake excuses."

"Speaking of that," Linda said "You two didn't finish Mr. Short's assignment either, did you?"

"No more lies starting now?" Harry smiled sheepishly.

Linda uncrossed her arms, outstretching one reluctantly. "Deal?" she said.

"Deal," Harry agreed.

"Guess I better give you two a quick summary of the summary."

Harry gave her a grateful look. He and Ron spent the rest of breakfast listening to the long story of the Holocaust.  
Harry couldn't remember the last time he hadn't been bored in a History lecture. He wasn't exactly sure what he'd expected it to be about. One thing was for sure, he wasn't expecting _this._

_Six million people, dead. _He wondered how far apart Wizards had to be from the muggle society to never have learned about the historical event. He was sure some older adult wizards might've known about it, but to never teach it to the next generation was a sort of education system failure.

Sure, the wizards never indulged much in the conflicts in the muggle world, but for them to be so separated by differences to not help even in the slightest.  
He was sure that the assistance of magic in this event could've prevented most of these deaths.

Had they been aware it was happening? Why did no one care to help? Did they really care so little for muggles that they let so many of them _die_?

The more Linda spoke, the more he began to see the point behind the field trip. He couldn't imagine just sitting back knowing millions of muggles were being tortured and slaughtered by Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Wizards or not, people were still people.

He'd always known he'd have to fight Voldemort, for the good of the wizarding kind, because he was meant to, because he killed his parents. But now, he had a new reason. Harry never really thought about it, but if Voldemort gained as much power as Hitler, not just thousands of muggles would be slaughtered like before, _all _of them would.

It was that same saying of '_history repeats itself'. _Once Voldemort gained that power, he would create his new race of pure-bloods, just as Hitler had attempted to create the Aryan race.

The faces of Linda, Mike, Darren, and even Amber flashed in his mind. All of them, locked up, tortured, awaiting death.

"You alright there, man?" Mike asked.

"I'm fine," Harry replied "Just worried about memorizing it all."

"You'll be fine, you have Linda and ten more minutes," Darren said "She's really good at history."

Harry knew he was telling the truth, he'd had enough proof of it already, but he could also tell he said it to make up for yelling at her earlier.

Either way, Linda smiled at the compliment. Mike noticed too, and sniggered.

Harry held back a laugh, not eager to return to Linda's bad side again. He passed it off as if he were simply brushing his hair back.  
Linda, Mike, and Darren paused. Mike, who was right across from Harry, squinted.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," he said "I- We were just wondering… how'd you get that scar on your forehead?"

"You just noticed it?"

"No, we'd noticed it before. Linda just insisted on 'not being rude'."

"Well," Harry thought back to the same answer the Dursleys had told him about it. He'd believed them for most of his life. All it took was some half-giant with a magical pink umbrella to convince you it wasn't the result of a car accident.

"A car crash," Harry answered. "I was baby, so I don't actually remember any of it."

"Kinda weird how it looks like a lightning bolt," Mike said.  
Linda elbowed him, and then turned to Harry.

"Sorry to hear that," she said, then knitted her eyebrows together. It resembled Hermione's '_motherly concern'_ stare. "Was anyone else hurt in the car crash?"

"Er, my parents didn't make it," Harry said shortly. He really didn't want to get into a topic that would force him to bring up more lies.

Linda nodded. "That's must've been awful."

"It's fine, as I said, I don't remember it."

"We got seven minutes," Ron said. "We should continue."

Linda agreed, and resumed with the lecture. Harry made a note to thank Ron later for saving him from the approaching awkward silence.

As Linda quickly explained the rest, Harry felt an uneasy aura settle around him and the other two wizards. He knew the '_no lies' _promise was something he wouldn't be able to keep.

* * *

Harry remembered when Hagrid had first told him that he was a Wizard. He could still recall how stupid he felt in those first couple weeks when people would say words like 'Quidditch', or 'Hogwarts' houses'.

Yet, he didn't think he ever truly felt as stupid as he did now.  
He hoped that when Ms. Ross said they'd be working only on basic robotics this year, she'd meant that they would just non-working models of things.  
The last couple days, she'd only given them notes on robotics, and basic computer things. They'd worked separate from the muggles on very simple programs, like Paint.  
He was almost positive that no one but Hermione had bothered to study the manuals she'd handed out. Now that it was time to put their study time to the test, everything was falling apart.

Not only was this hard, it was hopeless.  
She'd handed each of the wizards a manual on 'how to build a robot car'. It even had 'for beginners' in big bold letters on the front. Harry was almost positive the cover was a lie.  
The instructions didn't even look like English.  
"_Program the motor speed and torque to pull the weight of your android,_" Harry read out loud to Ron.

"Bloody hell, _what_?"

Of course, it _was _much simpler than what the muggles were building. They'd gotten to pic between remote controlled helicopter or battle robots. Still, the muggels didn't struggle with the assignment.

He looked at Hermione, who had actually advanced pretty quickly in the project. She'd paired up with Neville, as she always did in Snape's potion lessons. Draco and Goyel were the only other two who weren't as stressed by the project. Amber had completely abandoned her assignment and come over to help (do all the work for) Draco.

It didn't take her more than a couple minutes to finish his car for him. Hermione was done too, not long after. Harry only felt like ripping his hair out at this point.

He looked over at Amber who'd gone back to finish her helicopter. He tried to signal her, but she was far too focused to notice.

Eventually, Hermione gave them a hand, giving Harry and Ron the _'you owe me one'_ look.  
Soon enough, the classroom was filled with flying helicopters crashing into each other, robot battles on the desks, and the lame motor powered cars (more than half which didn't even work) on the floor.

Harry could hear some of the student's laughter directed towards the wizards.

Their next class (history) went the same as usual. Harry simply copied the notes, half payed attention, and waited for the misery to be over. Their history teacher was nice enough, smart too. However, there wasn't much he could do for them since they arrived at the school in the middle of a semester. Each class they would read from their text book, trying to catch up on World War II.

Harry had already noticed how the History and the English teacher had collaborated to teach similar topics.

"They always do that," Linda had told him, "It's the lesson plan invented by Mr. Short."

It worked well enough. Little by little, Harry began to catch up on the subjects. He couldn't imagine what it would be like to have the teacher teach about another war, he would be beyond lost.

Today was different. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't concentrate. Harry knew literature was their next class, and the thought of having to watch that movie on the Holocaust was something he wasn't ready to face.

Just like in _WICCA_, he knew the images of his friends would be fresh in his mind when he watched it.

When the bell finally rung, he made his way out of the classroom. He felt his stomach churn with every step he took.  
To the muggles, and probably the wizards as well, this would be a simple historical film. To him, it was pressure, a vision of a near future if he didn't defeat Voldemort.

Linda sensed something wrong with him, just as she had when they were about to watch _WICCA._

He told her it was just nerves for the possible pop quiz. She shook her head and eyed him skeptically.

"I thought we agreed on no more lying?"

Harry frowned, going with the excuse he used last time. "Fine, I'm not into tragic movies either, okay?"

"I get it; it was a very dark point in history."

'_No you don't' _Harry wanted to tell her. Groaning, he followed her inside.

Only moments after, Mr. Short confirmed their suspicions on the quiz. The only thing Harry hadn't expected was what followed:

"The quiz will be after the movie," he said.

The students cheered. Harry slammed his head on the desk.

The lights dimmed.  
The screen switched on.  
Hell was revealed.

* * *

**A/N: I case you're wondering: no, I'm not insane.**

**Jk Rowling said the history of Germany helped her develop what was happening in the wizarding world...soooo, I inserted it into the fanfic XD**

**Also, when I started this fic, my grammar &amp; spelling sucked (SO) bad. I went back into some of the previous chapters and fixed them (THANK GLOB). No big changes, mostly grammar &amp; a bit of detail.**

**I'm almost positive my grammar still sucks. Feel free to point out any mistakes in the reviews. I'm not really sure, but my Beta kinda... stopped responding, so now i'm uploading chapters only edited by me. I hope I haven't slaughtered the English language.**

**P.S: a big thankyou to one of my reviewers (don't hate me for calling you out, I'll remove it if you want me to XD)  
SlytherinLegacie 338: YOU RULE, I LOVE YOUR REVIEWS :D**

**One more thing... Harry Potter has a message for all of you (his words , not mine)**

**Harry: PLEASE REVIEW , SAVE THE PUPPIES!**

**#ReviewForThePuppies**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:**

**HI!  
Well, this chapter took me a bit longer than the others. I hit some writer's block during the process of it. It's also a bit shorter than the last two chapters. Sorry, but I couldn't think of a better place to end it.  
THANK YOU SOOO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! YOU GUYS SAVED SOOO MANY PUPPIES (and made my week XD ).  
**

**Well, my beta messaged me. She's been pretty busy, hopefully she'll edit the previous chapters (along with this one) soon. I don't think there are any big grammatic errors, but if there are, feel free to point them out (not insult the fic as a whole, please).**

**Anyway, hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

**Chapter 16**

_Four ropes hung from the long wooden arch .Below each of them were old looking barrels. Some had cracks forming in the middle and around the edges._

_'MOVE!' yelled one of the guards._  
_He wore a black uniform-like robe with a symbol on the back. His voice sparked something in Harry's brain. The sound pierced in his mind like a bad memory._

_Harry shivered behind the barbed wire fence from both the cold, and the sound of the voice. He tried to move forward for a better look, but found that he couldn't move. Everything but his head was frozen on the spot.  
He saw the guards pushing four people forward, their backs turned to him._

_Even though he couldn't see their faces, they didn't appear to be older any older than fifteen. Each of them shirtless, shivering in the cold, showing off bruises and cuts on their backs. The only piece of fabric to cover them were stripped pants._

_Harry tilted his head left, then right. There were fences all around this area, along with people all dressed just like the four teens walking up to the barrels. The only difference was the others wore stripped shirts to match their pants. While they didn't look as bruised and beaten, their faces had shadow of fear cast upon them._

_The other people there were guards; all dressed like the one Harry's gaze was following._

'_Where am I?' Harry asked aloud._

_No one reacted, they hadn't heard him.  
He watched as the guard led the children to the barrels._

'_CLIMB UP!'_

_People around them began to sob as the four carefully climbed. With each attempted, the barrels made a fearful crunching sound, threatening to break completely. Harry realized too late what was happening._

'_These mudbloods get an early check out,' the guard said to the crowd. 'While most of you would die from diseases, hunger, or labor…'_

_The guard took off his mask, Harry cringed at the sight. His face was an almost opaque texture, with deep, dark eyes in form of slits. His nose was flat and resembled a snake, leaving small incisions for nostrils._

_Harry knew he'd recognized the voice._

_Voldemort looked directly at Harry. Voldemort, the only person visibly aware of his existence._

'_They get the special treatment for the acquaintances with a certain blood- traitor,' Voldemort finished. His cat-like eyes landed on Harry._

_The reality hit Harry hard enough for him to regain his movement. He climbed over the fence, just as the last of the four climbed onto the barrel._

_Each step he took appeared to be in slow motion, as if informing him that he wouldn't make it in time._

_The ropes magically wrapped around the necks of the four. The slightest out of place movement and the barrels would shatter beneath the. A certain death by hanging._

_Voldemort pointed his wand at the barrels, causing them to rotate in Harry's direction, all the while, crunching menacingly._

_Harry could now see the faces of the four teens. All of them were tear streaked and scared.  
Linda, Mike, Darren, and Amber reached for each other's hands in final defeat.  
In their eyes, shone a dim light of hope when they spotted Harry, their last chance to be saved._

'_Say goodbye to your friends, Potter!'_

'_NO!' He managed, before the barrels came crumbling down._

* * *

Harry awoke in a cold sweat, unable to sleep for the rest of the night.  
It was around 3am, Harry spent the time he had left staring at the ceiling and listened to Ron snore on the bed next to him.

This had been his fourth Voldemort-Holocaust related nightmare tonight. Still dead tired, he chose to deprive himself of more sleep, rather than suffer dark future visions.  
Of all the ones he'd dreamt, none had been as vivid as this one.

He could still see the faces of his friends fresh in his mind, as if he'd been there only seconds ago, as well as the face of Voldemort.

Harry couldn't help but wonder _why _Amber had been in his dreams. She wasn't exactly his friend. Anyone associated with Draco was Harry's enemy. Especially when that someone was a snobby cheerleader.

When the clock finally showed 5am, Harry headed to breakfast, leaving Ron behind.

* * *

Amber stood in the hallway, her eyes fixed on her shoes anxiously. She had both arms behind her back, a suspicious stance to come across. She looked up when she heard the approaching footsteps of Harry.

For a second, Harry thought he saw a slight smile on her face from his arrival. A strange urge to hug Amber crossed his mind.  
He was so glad she was okay, not dead, hanged, beaten, and trapped. All the things he'd seen in his dream that night occur to his muggle friends.

He shook it off; he had to keep fear on their side. They couldn't risk exposure. Of course, he didn't _like _Amber. He wasn't sure what to consider her, either an ally or a pawn. Even so, he didn't want to see her hurt, much less it being his fault.

As he got closer, she extended her hands forward, revealing two shopping bags.

Harry's eyes widened at the sight.

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"The clothes, remember?" She looked down at Harry's current outfit and sniggered.

He took the bag and looked through it.

"Um, Amber, exactly how much did all this cost?!"

Not only were there more than enough clothing items, but they were all very expensive looking. The brand was one Harry heard the name of quite often, even when attending Hogwarts.

"Price isn't important," she said. "Just keep your end of the deal."

Before he could try to pay her back, they heard footsteps approach.

He and Amber froze as they heard the voices of Darren and Mike.

"_Yes, Darren, they are our friends, that doesn't mean we can trust them."_

"_Why not?"_

"_Because… I know they're hiding something, there's just something…not right about them."_

Their steps got louder, along with their voices. He grabbed Amber's arm and ran.

They turned the corner to a dead end. The only thing in sight was an old janitor's closet.

"In there!" Harry pointed.

Amber tried the door, but it was locked.

Harry cursed, pulling out his wand. Amber drew back at the sight, probably aware that Harry didn't plan to hurt her, but still fearful of the magical object.

"_Alohomora!" _Harry pointed his wand at the closet.

He and Amber rushed inside, closing the door.

"_Lumos!" _Harry said, giving them at least some light.

"You have a spell for everything, don't you?"

"Mostly, yeah," Harry said, and did a silencing charm around the closet. It was quite cramped, with a couple brooms, mops and probably some cobwebs. Amber's gaze didn't fall far from the wand, her eyes sparkled in amazement.

"Why are you hiding from them, aren't they your friends?"

She paused, mulling it over. "Are they your friends? Or are you only pretending?"

"What? No, they _are_ my friends. Why would you think that?"

It took a couple seconds for Harry to realize she was thinking of Draco.  
He'd pretended to like her to get what he wanted. Now that they had fear on their side, he didn't have to pretend anymore.

There was that,_ and_ Amber probably though all wizards were downright evil. He wondered if her knowing that he was actually friends with them would affect the fear which controlled her.

"I'm not Draco," was Harry's only reply.

"I know that, but...you hate humans don't you?"

"I _am _human, only with powers. You expose us, you get hurt, and that's that."

"You mean, you don't hurt people for fun? Aren't wizards supposed to be evil?"

"What'd you find out about Cole?"

Amber crossed her arms, not fond of being ignored.

"About that, he _was_ acting suspicious. He went to the office at the end of the day," she said "I followed him in, but he then went into the restricted area."

"What's in there?" Harry asked.

"Student and teacher records," She answered "I'm not sure what he'd want with those. None of your records are there. It's for Walker high student and staff only."

"Strange," Harry agreed. "Anything else?"

Amber shook her head. "Can we get out of here ? I'm sure they're gone by now."

They slowly opened the door, in case anyone was around. However, their plan failed when Amber tripped on a broom and they both tumbled loudly out of the closet.

Awkwardly enough, Harry landed on top of Amber in a questionable position. He looked up to find Dean and Seamus passing by in the hallway.

"Way to go Potter!" Seamus called.

"It's not what it looks like, I swear!"

Amber pushed him off and glared at the two boys. She looked like she wanted to say something along the lines of '_not with that loser'._

Dean and Seamus left for the cafeteria, wolf whistling as they walked.

* * *

Harry couldn't stop staring at his reflection. This was the first time he'd ever seen himself in muggle clothes that fit him.  
Not only that, but they were so _stylish. _For the first time living as a muggle, he didn't look like a loser.

Either Amber had taken her time picking out these clothes, or it was a complete coincidence that some shirts matched his eyes.

"Er, mate, what are you doing?" Ron asked, turning on the light, just as Harry did a back pose in front of the mirror.

Harry signaled to shopping bags on the floor. "Hurry up and change before breakfast ends," he said, hoping Ron hadn't seen that last pose.

Once changed, the wizards headed to breakfast.

"Wow," Linda said. "Don't you two look nice."

Harry smiled, biting into his toast.

"You sure you can't make that party tonight?" Mike asked.

Harry shook his head. He couldn't help but feel slight anger towards Mike. His words still echoed in Harry's head. '_There's just something not right about them'._

Linda and Mike exchanged glances. Harry got the feeling it was about them.

The topic eventually changed to music groups they'd never heard of. Harry and Ron just nodded, hoping they didn't appear too out of place.

"Harry, what's up with those two guys back there?" Linda said, signaling to Harry's left.

Harry looked back and spotted Dean and Seamus giving him a big 'thumbs up'.

Harry turned crimson. "I'm not sure, I don't know them."

"Aren't they from your school?"

"Nope."

Hermione shot Harry a skeptical look. "What did you do?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"hmmm, really?" Hermione asked. "I guess you don't mind that Dean and Seamus are coming this way then?"

"_What?!"_

Harry turned around frantically. Dean and Seamus were gone.

He glared at Hermione "not funny."

The whole table exploded in laughter. "Bloody hell, you should've see your face!" Ron said "What _did _you do?"

Harry buried his face in his hands, refusing to answer any more questions.

In the hallway got the strangest sensation that he was being watched.  
Even in class, he could sense something was off. It wasn't until Mike pointed it out in the middle of History class.

"Guys, don't look now, but that creepy Cole kid keeps looking over here," Mike whispered.

Of course, most of them did the exact opposite, and turned to stare at Cole.

Cole looked away, seemingly afraid.

Sure, Cole was one to act strange towards them, especially since he appeared to know their secret. Sometimes Harry would catch him throwing suspicious glances their way, not a glint of fear had ever been present.

It had always been more if curiosity tinged with determination.  
Determination to _what,_ he wasn't sure. Harry suspected it was something such as '_exposing them'_, _'kidnapping them'_, and in the worst case, _'killing them'_.

Harry considered the possibility of him just being intimidated by the kidnap plan. Yet, Cole seemed more than just afraid; Harry couldn't place it just yet.

"Just ignore him, I guess," Harry whispered back.

"I swear, if he looks over here one more tim-"

"Mr. Harris, if you could avoid talking during my class," Mr. Anderson said, looking at Mike.

"Sorry, professor," Mike said.

"Maybe you should switch seats with Cole for today?"

Cole looked up, startled. He was never one to talk in class; Harry could see why he would pick him to move.

Mike rolled his eyes and stood up. Cole hesitated, but did as the teacher instructed.

Once seated, Cole scooted to the far end of his table, away from Harry.  
Linda and Darren smiled politely at him. Harry kept his gaze down.

Cole had stopped staring at Harry directly, but would occasionally throw glances his way.

After the fourth time, Harry lost his patience. "Can I help you?"

To Harry's surprise, Cole smirked. "You and your lot of vermins could leave this school; it'd make my life a lot easier."

"Vermins?" Harry asked, feigning confusion "What do you mean?"

"_Pft! _You know exactly what I mean." Cole looked to the teacher. He was too absorbed in the lesson to notice the whispered argument. Of course, he seemed to have no problem noticing when Mike had spoken up minutes ago.

"Your entire kind is a nuisance, including Agnes."

Harry knew not to respond. Cole was like Draco when he spoke about muggles. Yet, his curiosity got the better of him.

"Who's Agnes?"

Cole gripped his pencil hard, his knuckles turned white from the force.

Harry knew he just crossed a touchy subject. He braced himself for the insults.  
Instead, Cole just went back to copying notes.

* * *

Linda raised her hand "Where's Mr. Short?"

"I'm afraid he's taking a couple sick days."

"Is he alright?"

The man tapped his foot impatiently. He had spiky, black, greasy hair like Snape's. His eyes were brown and bloodshot. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days, but Harry could tell he was wide awake. He eyed Linda with boredom.

"He'll return shortly, I assure you of that, Miss…?"

"Linda," she answered.

The teacher nodded, not particularly interested in her. He turned to the class and did something Harry wasn't expecting.

"All exchange students, please stand."

The room grew quiet as all of them stood up, not liking being singled out.

"There will be a new seating arrangement. All exchange students will sit on the right side of the class room, the others on the left."

In no time, the sounds of chairs and tables scraping against floor was heard. No one dared speak out against the substitute.

The teacher proceeded to write on the board.

'_Mr. Gled'_

The teacher beamed at the class, the smile felt like poisonous honey. Harry was immediately reminded of Professor Umbridge.

"Now class, as we all know, Halloween is approaching."

The room broke out into excited murmurs, all coming from the muggle's side of the class.

"So, I thought you all might like to learn about some Halloween related topics while Mr. Short is away. With the whole WICCA excitement going around, some old witch movies, along with some short essays, could be a good way to go about this week?"

The entire left side of the classroom cheered. The wizards were mostly put off by the announcement, but for Harry it was more the aura around the substitute.

He couldn't explain it, but he wasn't inclined to trust him, there was something _off_about him. The way he kept rubbing his wrist were he wore the single glove.

He didn't even dress like a teacher. Sure, Harry wasn't one to judge on fashion choices, but this man looked more like he was going to a funeral, rather than teach at school.

Harry remembered Quirrell. He'd worn a turban, all along hiding Voldemort's tainted spirit on his back.  
He knew this wasn't the case. Voldemort had already returned, it couldn't be him. But then, what was he hiding?

"I'll take your excitement as a _yes_?"

Before the class could continue their cheering, Harry's hand shot up in the air. "What about Mr. Short's lesson plan?"

He couldn't tell if it was just his imagination, but the teacher seemed to eye him in disgust, much like Snape would.

"_As I said, _your teacher will return soon. The lesson plans will continue when he does so."

Harry didn't respond, feeling the muggles glare at him. He didn't exactly want to be the uptight know-it-all that ruined their fun. That was Hermione's job.

The cheers continued. The right side joined in, trying to not appear out of place.

Harry didn't attempt to fit in. This caught the teacher's attention.

A venomous grin spread across Mr. Gled's face. His yellow teeth visible and gleaming. "That won't be a problem, now will it Mr. Potter?" He whispered in Harry's ear.

A fiery pain seared through Harry's scar. His hands shot up to cover his head, feeling as though it might split open.

"Nurse," was the only thing Harry could manage.

He stumbled out of the room. He knew Mr. Gled's eyes never left him as he walked out.  
Just who was that guy?

* * *

Harry passed by the office on his way back from the bathroom. He'd decided to wait for the pain to go away in there. How could he explain to the nurse that the cursed scar given to him by a dark wizard was troubling him?

Only a few feet after he walked by the office door, he heard the wailing sound of woman. He stopped, taken aback.

Harry heard the voice of another woman "_Shhh… shhhh, _it'll be alright."

He moved a couple inches forward, knowing it was best not to spy on them.  
Even though he wanted to walk away, he couldn't help his curiosity when the crying woman began to speak.

"It's not alright! T-this is the last p-place I knew where to look!"

"He'll come home soon, I'm sure of it" The woman said softly.

'_The kidnap,' _Harry thought '_She must be the mother of the missing student.'_

"He called the school himself," the woman continued. "He said he needed a couple days off to figure things out."

The woman's sobs gradually quieted down to mere sniffles.

Harry couldn't comprehend what was happening. A _student ,_ a _child _was missing. Why was this school worker taking this so lightly?

Harry kicked the wall, anger flowing through him. He'd failed to rescue the student.

He heard the door knob turn, and the two women walked out.  
Harry frozen in his tracks, soon spotted by the receptionist.

She turned away from the teary eyed woman and eyed him sternly.

"What are you doing out of class?"

"Oh, Er..bathroom," He mumbled.

"Where's your pass? Your teacher should've given you one. Whose class are you in?"

"Mr. Short's- well, the substitute."

Both women looked at each other.  
The receptionist sighed impatiently and nodded "go ahead," she said.

The lady who'd been crying looked at Harry.  
"You're one of James' students." She said, her voice sounded sore from all the crying. "Tell me, dear, was he acting… strange yesterday?"

"Mr. Short?" Harry said in confusion.  
Was this woman trying to say Mr. Short was the kidnapper? Harry already knew the guilty one was Cole.  
"He seemed fine to me," Harry answered. "Why?"

Fresh tears began spilling out her eyes.

"Jack is my husband," her voice cracked. "He didn't come home yesterday."

* * *

**A/N: I NEED YOUR HELP , PLEASE:  
Okay, while I may have the plot down, I suck at parings (for my own fics). I'll give you options, and you guys can tell me which you preffer in the reviews. (sorry, Ginny, Luna, e.c.t aren't in this fic because they're not fifth years :( )**

**1) Linda X Mike  
2)Linda x Darren  
3) Linda X Harry  
4) Amber x Draco  
5) Amber X Harry  
6) Hermione x Ron  
7) Hermione x Andrew  
8) No parings (at all)  
9) Other (you have to tell me who with who.)**

**Also : PLEASE REVIEW... PWEASEEEE**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N : Heyyy... remember me?  
Yeah, okay...I haven't updated in like... 2 weeks? I'M SORRY T-T  
Time for my excuses:  
1) Writer's block (as usual..)  
2) I was waiting for my Beta to edit this chapter (P.S : SHE'S BACK, YAY!)  
3) Other projects (oneshots...summer homework. You can thank my lovely teacher who is actually reading this fanfic for the homework delay thing. Just kidding...kidding.. P.S the essay is almost done, I swear :P )**

**4) Sadness : hard to write when you know you're getting thrown back to prison *cough* (I mean school) soon.**

**5) I'm lazy okay? okay.  
Sorry about the chapter being short-ish. I was REALLY stuck on this one. Not sure why...**

Regardless, hope you enjoy &amp; thankyou for voting :)

* * *

**Chapter 17**

Planning was the hardest part.  
Harry wanted to rescue Mr. Short, but he was unsure of how to do that without him finding out their secret.

There was that, and busting him out would kill the slim hope he had that the witch hunters weren't on to them yet. If Harry helped their prisoner escape, they were bound to catch him. He wasn't ready; they weren't expecting the kidnap have been so soon.

Still, he couldn't miss that meeting. It was the only opportunity he had to see what the witch hunters were planning. Why had they kidnapped Mr. Short? Why not one of them?

Tonight was the meeting, and he still hadn't figured it out.

I mean, he was no genius, but Harry was pretty sure that witch hunters hunted witches, not high school English teachers.

Harry couldn't wrap his head around it. He probably wouldn't have believed Mr. Short's disappearance was intentional if it weren't for the substitute.  
He knew Mr. Gled wasn't really a teacher. Five years of Voldemort impostors gave you a sense of knowledge when something seemed fishy.

The lack of sleep wasn't a big help to the whole situation. At one point he thought saw a flash of light, just out the corner of his eye. Harry didn't think much of it, and passed it off as a trick of the light mixed with exhaustion.

An unscheduled D.A meeting was held at the end of the day. Harry explained all then new information of the kidnap to team A, warning them to be extra cautions around Gled.

Harry knew it was about time he told Amber of their plan and suspicions of Cole.

It wasn't that he trusted her (he didn't), but if she knew this information, she could probably do better spy work for them.

He'd thought of inviting her to the meeting, but then decided against it. Partially because Dean and Seamus were there. He wasn't in the mood or wolf whistling and suggestive stares.

He did, however, inform her of the situation later on during the day.

Harry ran into her just before lunch.

Amber didn't look too shocked about the whole witch hunting dilemma.  
Harry wagered that after finding out that the entire group of exchange student were actually wizards, not much could surprise her by now.

She also suggested that they might need a ride. Cole was probably going on bike, or getting picked up from school. Harry wasn't risking taking their brooms near witch hunter.  
Amber said she'd have a ride ready for them around 10 pm, about half a mile from school grounds.

Harry could've hugged her, but then remembered the whole 'keeping fear on their side' thing.  
Either way, it didn't seem to be working too well now. He could tell the fear had begun to fade; she was partially into helping them for the broom rides and muggle curiosity.

Of course, fear was still the core of her assistance; she'd just begun to have other reasons.

"So, when are you taking me flying?" Amber asked.

Harry raised an eyebrow. "We're about to possibly be slaughtered by a witch hunting society. Are serious right now?"

"Well… pretty much, yeah."

"Just stay focused," Harry sighed.

She wasn't shaken. Amber intended to get that ride eventually, Harry could tell.

"Aye aye, captain," she saluted him.

She turned away from him and walked back to her dorm. Her long black hair swished behind her.

Harry couldn't help but wonder just how much conditioner that girl used.

* * *

Harry trode outside the school grounds, constantly peering over his shoulder. Even though he was positive no one noticed them leave, he wasn't taking any chances.

He regretted wearing short sleeves. It was only the beginning of October, but he felt winter right around the corner. It was cold enough for him to see his breath in the night air.  
He was looked nice, not like he was trying, all the clothes Amber got him fit him great. He wore a black button-down shirt, and designer jeans. The only thing he carried was his wand stashed in his socks, and a backpack filled with small bombs of knockout gass (courtesy of Dean and Seamus).

No stars shone tonight. Only the dim glow of the moon behind the clouds provided them light. The only other sound besides the gang's footsteps was the cold breeze through the autumn leaves, and the nearby car engine.

Amber hadn't just _gotten them a ride_. She'd gotten them one of the most expensive cars of the year.

A couple yards away sat Amber in the driver's seat of a shiny, black, Lincoln Town car. It was under a bunch of trees. Harry wouldn't have noticed it if Amber hadn't texted him specific instructions of where to find it.  
Harry had the urge to drop the mission, drive to his uncle's house, and rub this car in his face.

He decided the mission was probably more important, and got in the car.

Harry sat up front with Amber, immediately turning the heat up.

"Should've worn the jacket I gave you," she noted.

Harry shrugged and placed his bag on the floor.  
He hadn't brought much, just his invisibility cloak and phone. His wand was tucked safely in his socks.

Amber turned the engine off, leaving the heat on. They couldn't risk Cole spotting them. Harry only hoped he wasn't going to the meeting by bike.

Sure, Harry could put a Disillusionment charm on the car, but the sound of the engine was bound to bring about some suspicion.

Hermione got out of the car and proceeded with the charm. Amber shrieked when she herself 'floating' in midair.

"You can change it back later, right?"

Harry placed his hand on the now invisible car door. "No, this is permanent."

Just when Amber was about to wrap her hands around Harry's neck, Hermione assured her it wore off.

"You know how to drive?" Ron asked.

Amber adjusted the mirror. Not that it made much difference in an invisible car. "Well… I believe in learning on the occasion."

Ron nodded. "I drove a flying car once. I'd say I did pretty well for my first time."

Hermione looked at him skeptically. "Didn't you crash it into a tree?"

"Car," Amber said.

Harry looked up.

Not far off where a bright pair of headlights making their way near them.  
The car parked a couple yards ahead of them.

Harry took out his phone.  
It was almost time. That had to be Cole's ride.

He was right. Not even five minutes later, a short kid with a black hoddie walked toward it.

"Looks like the universe is on our side," Harry said.

"It's about bloody time," Ron laughed.

Although they were invisible, Amber still let the other car get a decent head start.

It was a good thing too, given that not long after she knocked over a bunch of trashcans.

* * *

The car ride was rather quite. Harry knew they couldn't really be heard if they talked, but there wasn't much to talk about either. He was only minutes away from entering into a wizard slaughter house.  
Three car spaces behind Cole was a pretty safe zone. He couldn't make out the driver from that distance, but Harry had a pretty good idea of who it was anyway.

They wound their way through narrow streets, surrounded by a handful of trees on both sides.  
With no other cars in sight, Amber was having a hard time seeing the road clearly. Turning the headlights on was out of the question, the only way to know where they were headed (that being off a cliff, or the next turn), was by following Cole.

The further they followed him, the more country side was revealed. It wasn't too far from the school, but still a rather long trip by bike.

Less houses where visible by the second. They'd entered a very forest-like territory.

Finally, reached a large log cabin. It looked both like those types of houses Harry would see advertisements of in vacation pamphlets, and also like the ones that usually have a sign saying '_danger' ._

In other words, it was a nice looking death trap.

About four other cars were parked near it, signaling that some other members had arrived.

Harry got out his invisibility cloak and slowly opened the door.

"_Wait!" _Amber whispered.

Harry turned back.

"Give me your phone, if anything goes wrong, I'll call the D.A."

Harry shook his head. "If anything goes wrong, drive to safety."

Harry paused, quickly realizing he sounded concerned. "And go get the D.A, I mean."

Harry handed her the phone, hoping she wouldn't have to use it.

The three of the got under the cloak and walked forward into the mouth of the beast.

* * *

Getting into the house was a rather hard task. The three of them had to carefully slip in before the door was closed behind Cole. Lucky it worked, or else they would've gone Santa Clause style in the chimney. Everything after it was simple enough.

Hermione showed Harry her phone. They still had about half an hour before midnight.

The house was just as large on the outside as on the inside if not, bigger. The furniture was exactly what you'd expect from an expensive log cabin, lots of leather with animal skin rugs.

Harry spotted a nicely crafted wine cabinet. I'd been left open, with several bottles littered around the house. The smell of alcohol was fresh in the air.

There were plenty of breakable looking trinkets positioned in the various shelves. Numerous paintings hung on the walls, most of tropical places and its wildlife. It didn't match the country-like style of the house. That was really the only thing that appeared out of place. It looked like an ordinary house, not the kidnapper den of doom.

The only other thing that appeared odd was the lack of cleaning. Lots of cobwebs hung from place to place, along with dust. It made the house appear older than it was.

Chatter could be heard somewhere further into the house. About five people at most.

Just as Harry suspected, Mr. Gled was the one driving.

Harry wished he could say he was satisfied with the answer he got. Yes, Mr. Gled was a witch hunter, they'd probably sent him to the school to further investigate the students. Maybe even the reason why Mr. Short was kidnapped in the first place, mystery solved. Yet, he felt there was something more to it.

Not to the kidnap/spy plan itself, but Gled. He never appeared particularly interested in the exchange students. Harry would think a witch hunter would be more attentive to them, to show a particular interest or hatred, but it was never there.

Cole left him in the living room and went upstairs. The gang followed cautiously.

Cole's room was overly organized, so far the only place in this house that appeared to be so. It looked older than the other rooms. Childhood toys were still on the shelves, along with cartoony posters and bedsheets.

The only thing that seemed new was the book collection. From what Harry could tell, it was mostly science &amp; technology books.

He had all the newest gadgets in his room. Everything from the new computer models to gaming systems.

Harry wondered when was the last time he'd been back in his room. From what Amber had gathered, he rarely left school on weekends.

Harry knew his father couldn't be as bad as the Dursleys, Cole's room was far from a closet.

He sat on the bed staring at the nearby window.

Harry guessed he was bored, probably waiting for the meeting to start. Then he could suck up to the members. If he wasn't an official witch hunter already, he'd make sure they made him one.  
Harry disliked him more and more by the minute.

However, Harry wasn't expecting what happened next.

Cole stopped staring at the window, and grabbed a nearby pillow.  
Harry thought for a moment that Cole had spotted them, that he knew they were there. He grabbed Hermione and Ron's arms and ducked, sure he would throw the pillow.

Yet, nothing happened.  
The three of them slowly got back up.

First thing Harry noticed was that Cole had the Pillow to his face. Then, the muffled sobs.

Cole was _crying?_

Cole wanted to be a witch hunter. He went to the extent of trying to expose them. If he hadn't wanted to, he could've simply failed at the attempt, lied to the W.S.S, and told them that there were no witches on campus.  
The open hostility towards them said so too. So, it wasn't that he was being forced into this.  
Why could he possibly be upset?

Harry didn't understand.

Cole wiped his face.

He pulled off his hoddie, revealing a fancy black dress shirt. Cole sighed and unzipped his backpack, pulling out pictures and slightly wrinkled pieces of paper.

He read over them several times, mouthing the words, and looking as stressed as ever.

"Cole," a man's voice said.

Cole looked up, startled. A short man with dark gray hair stood in the doorway. He had the same pale blue eyes as Cole. Harry assumed it was Cole's father, the W.S.S leader.

"The last member is almost here, head downstairs."

Cole nodded and grabbed his papers and backpack.

Harry let Cole get a headstart in leaving the room. He didn't want their footsteps to be too audible near the leader. Cole might not think much of it , but Harry was sure his father was more attentive of the little details.

The meeting room was nothing more than the dining room. It was far from what harry expected this scene to be.  
He'd pictured barbaric old men sitting in a circle on the floor with guns and stakes in hand. Somewhere dark and scary like in horror movies. A possible witch or wizard tied up ready for sacrifice.

Harry didn't think it would be average people in suits sitting at a table with papers and teacups. It reminded him of government meeting he saw on television.

The room was large with white walls, dull paintings, and a glass table. It didn't match the rest of the log cabin. An old wooden door was visible in the corner of the room. Harry wouldn't have paid much attention to it if it hadn't had ginormous steel lock in the center. He wondered it that was where they were keeping Mr. Short.

There were about six people altogether. Five men and one woman, including Gled. They all stood up when Cole and his father arrived.

Cole and took a seat, the room remaining in a deathly silence, until the last member( a man) arrived.

The meeting began.

* * *

Mr. Quinn looked at his son. "Your reports?" he asked.

It was the first time he'd addressed Cole directly. Cole turned pale and looked shuffled with the papers in his hand.

"R-Right," he stuttered.

Once he pulled out the correct sheet, Cole cleared his throat and addressed the table.

"Amber Clarck, age 14.  
October 1st, also known as the day the 'exchange students arrived. She was found in the hallway paralyzed from head to toe. Similar to what one would describe as the 'Petrificus curse'."

Cole held up a photo of Amber and showed it to the table.

"The other witness described it as 'a flash of lighting, then Amber was on the floor'," Cole continued.

He sounded more confident than Harry had ever heard him, but the nerves were visible in his quivering hands.

"She was rushed to the nurse's office?" Cole's father asked.

Cole nodded. "I believe they wiped her memory of the incident, along with black mailing her actions."

He shuffled through the papers once more, pulling out a picture.

The picture was blurry, but Harry could still make out his Firebolt.

"Not long after this picture was posted on the school newspaper, Amber used her 'authority' over the students to convince them it was a hoax." He finished.

The table was silent as the documents were passed around for each member to see.

Cole looked at his father, waiting for his reaction.

His father smiled and nodded approvingly.

The burly man with the blond beard spoke up. "are you sure all the students are witches?"

Before Cole had a chance to reply, Gled answered.

"How often do you get a bunch of kids showing up from an unknown school in the middle of a school year?" He said simply "After all, they're well accompanied by one wizard in particular, aren't they Mr. Cole?"

Cole looked at Gled, understanding what he meant. He bit his lip and nodded.

Mr. Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

Cole reached into his backpack reluctantly, pulling out a picture.

"Harry potter," he said. "No records of him, along with any of the other witches are at the school. I took this picture between classes."

Harry thought back to the bright light he saw just before lunch. He cursed himself for being so careless.

Mr. Quinn's eyes narrowed as he turned to Cole. "_You know about Harry Potter?"_

Cole froze, looking like a deer in the headlights. He nodded slowly.

"_How _exactly is it you came to know about him?"

Cole looked away from his father as he spoke.  
"This summer I-I wanted to learn more about your job, so… I-_"_

"You snuck into the lab," he finished. "I _forbade _you from going in there!"

"But, dad! I-"

He signaled for him to be quite. "_We'll discuss it later," _he said sternly.

"As I was saying," Gled continued. "This '_field trip' _is nothing more than a soon to be attack on the town. I suggest we invade the school as soon as possible."

There was a murmur of agreement.

A member from the far side of the table spoke up. Harry couldn't see him from where he sat. "How many are there exactly?"

"There's about… 60 students all together, not counting their teachers," Gled sighed. "We'd need to call the rest of the members in for a successful operation."

Mr. Quinn looked from Cole to the rest of the table. "It'll be weeks before they get here. It gives us time to deal with the critical threat."

"Critical threat?" Cole asked.

Harry knew the answer before it was said.  
It all always came down to it. Even before his first year at Hogwarts, nothing had ever truly been safe.

"Abducting Harry Potter."

* * *

**A/N : Typical, huh? yeah... oh Harry. Pshh, atleast HIS school is fun :P So what if you have like 1000 people trying to kill you?  
**

**Anyway...**

**I'm working on a oneshot of Luna X Harry (don't judge me...). It's not smut or lemon, so don't get your hope up (you dirty minded little - KIDDING, ILY guys). It would be my first romance fic of...anything. So yeah, feel free to check it out (when I post it ) and tell me on a scale of 1- 10, how would you rate your pain after reading that fanfiction abomination? ( BH6 anyone?)  
Anyway, thank you teacher who is reading this fic. I know it sucks, quit trying to make me feel better haha.  
**

**Andddd to the rest of you : hope you liked it, and for the love of pizza, REVIEW XD (please, or I'll strangle the puppies myself CX )**

**AND: THANK YOU LadyKeyes FOR EDITING THIS :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I . AM .SOOOOOO .SORRYYYY !  
No writer's block this time...just school/ exams/ mental pain.  
Also really sorry this chapter is so short. I was going to make it longer, but I hadn't updated in a while (...a long while).  
I have about 10 days off school &amp; will (probably ) make another chapter soon.**

**Regardless, hope you enjoy &amp; don't kill me.**

* * *

**Chapter 18**

Sure, Harry was worried about his own safety, but in all honesty, that was nothing new. In other occasions he would also be worried for his friends, other Hogwarts' students, some teachers, and the list goes on.  
But now, as if to add to the personal cycle of his sugar and rainbow filled life, he had to worry about all of Walker High.

The witch hunters' had said they were only after the wizards, but of course, anyone who got in their way would also suffer a fatal death. They may even blow up the whole school if they had to. He could see it written in Mr. Gled's bloodthirsty gaze.

While Mr. Quinn might be the leader, Harry could tell he listened to everything Gled said. Cole's dad had the final say, as any leader does, but Gled was the one really pulling the strings.  
He could easily convince him to set fire to a measly high school. No problem.

He tried not to let those thoughts penetrate him too deep as he focused on the rest of the meeting.

All he heard were unknown names, list of other witch hunters in Europe. Contacting them would be a piece of cake, but they needed a set date when all could be present for the attack. Near the end of October seemed to be around the time, though Harry didn't have an exact date. The witch hunters would agree on one later, possibly another meeting.

The attack day would be unknown for now. It could be any day this month. He had to be prepared.

Meanwhile, Gled was jotting down notes on a sheet of paper. Mr. Quinn had told him and Cole to outline the 'Harry Potter abduction plan'.

Mr. Gled barely wrote anything. As far as Harry could tell by his smug look, he already had the perfect masterplan step by step in his head. He whispered what Harry assumed was the plan to Cole.

The teen nodded glumly.  
Observing two people plot his demise wasn't helping his nerves in the slightest. Beads of sweat on Harry's forehead as he awaited the death sentence.

Mr. Quinn took notice of the lack of work between the two and spoke up.

"Finished already?"

Gled smirked confidently. "It wasn't too hard. When you know your enemy's weakness, the rest is simple."

_Weakness? _  
He didn't like the sound of that.

Mr. Quinn raised an eyebrow. "Go on," he said, expectantly.

"Well," Gled began. "By what Cole has gathered from the lab, but most of all, from my past knowledge of this young wizard, he has a peculiar complex."

Mr. Quinn didn't seem to understand what he meant, but waited for him to continue.

"During all of Harry Potter's years at witchcraft school he can be found in the _center of trouble. _However, he's never been so much the cause of as he is the supposed _hero."_

"How so?" one of the members asked. It was the only woman at the table. She had a long nose and narrow eyes. She looked more like an actual witch than anyone at Hogwarts, minus the formal clothing. Her voice was both high-pitched and raspy, just like the stereotyped witch.

Mr. Gled noticed the skeptical look on her face and answered. "First year," Gled looked at Mr. Quinn. "Harry Potter saved a valuable object from being stolen, followed by his second year when he rescued a missing witch along with killing a giant dragon-like snake which massacred a couple cold-bloods."

_Cold-bloods ?_ Harry guessed it was a good payback for calling muggles mud-bloods. Still, even though they were witch hunters, he flinched at the insult.

"Just last year, he won a famous witch tournament, needlessly saving other competitors."

The woman drummed her fingers impatiently. "Your point, Gledrick?"

Harry covered his mouth in order not to laugh at the ridiculous name. Cole did the same.

Gled glared at Cole and went to the grain. "We can conclude that the young Cold-blood will save anyone at any time in order to be the hero. I can assume even more so if it's someone he cares for. "

Mr. Gled faced the table. "We get our hands on that someone and Potter will walk straight into our trap."

Before he could continue, Mr. Quinn interrupted. "We can't kidnap a single witch just yet. There aren't enough of us. The Cold-bloods would destroy us!"

The members erupted into murmurs of agreement.

Gledrick held up a finger to silence the table. "I never mentioned anything about taking a witch hostage."

He looked at Cole, signaling for him to continue.

Cole looked around the table, for the first time, visibly nervous. He had that same indistinguishable look Harry had seen in history class. Now he knew its meaning.

The teen looked at his father as Harry had looked at Snape his first year; fearful and unsure.

"I can't," Cole whispered.

"What was that?" his father asked, eyeing him impatiently.

"I can't," Cole said. "It doesn't feel right."

His father drummed his fingers on the table. "_And why is that_?"

"The documents in the lab… they said that Harry Potter fights against Voldemort. They said…he's good."

Cole's fear for what his father would say was evident, though his uncertainty was just a bit stronger.  
_Why would his father lie to him? The witches had to be evil. And Harry Potter was the worst of the all, right?_

Harry could almost hear the internal battle raging in his head by just staring him in the eyes. He was wondering the same thing too. Why _would _Cole's father lie to him? If he had all this information about Harry's past, it meant he knew the truth. There was no logic reason for him to be hunting wizards, especially him.

"_This _is why I forbade you to go in the lab. You'll fill your head with false nonsense." His father spat. "Harry Potter good? Please. Do you honestly believe that any witch powerful enough to murder a full grown sorcerer when they're only a baby would use his powers for good?"

Cole shook his head slightly. There was still doubt in his eyes. His father saw it too.

"Need I remind you what they've done, Cole?" Mr. Quinn said threateningly.

Cole's head snapped up. It was as if that one sentence had taken all the doubt in his mind. His fists clenched in anger and his eyes burned with hatred.

"Sorry," he said. "You're right."

Whatever glimmer of hope Harry had of Cole somehow stopping this devious plot vanished.

The teen dug into his back pack and pulled out three folders. They looked just like the ones that contained Amber's records. He bit his lip nervously, knowing who's they were.

"Mike Harris," he said as held up the first one. "Darren Miller, and Linda Nyguen."

His lips twitched into an evil smile. Cole sounded just like his father as he said the chilling words that would haunt Harry more than any threat ever would.

_"The way to Harry Potter is through his friends."_

* * *

Harry could've hexed him right then and there if it hadn't been for the other people in the room. He was both infuriated and scared. How could Cole do that? Hunting them was one thing, but to steal the student records and endanger innocent teens? The meeting ended with them deciding to kidnap one of Harry's friends. They were sure the _hero _would come rescue them. It was true.

All those nightmares he had were coming true.  
His friends were in danger because of him.

"Why not kidnap that Amber girl?" one member asked. "I'll wager she knows more about the witches than those three."

Cole shook his head. "She's probably more of a disposable tool to them. Harry probably wouldn't waste his time on her."

Harry clenched his fist, unsure of why that made him so angry; it was true, wasn't it?

The members left one by one, including Cole's father.

Harry wasn't sure where he was headed to at this hour of the night, but he didn't have much time to think on it.

Cole, the last memeber in the house, was halfway up the stairs when a loud honking noise could be heard outside. The witch hunter stopped in his tracks, as did the gang who were only inches away from the door.

Harry knew most of the witch hunters were too far to have made the noise. It had to be Amber's car.  
She may be a cheerleader, but she wasn't stupid. There was no way she would risk giving them away unless she was in real trouble.

Cole climbed down the stairs, nearing himself to the front window next to the door. Harry wasn't completely sure if the Dillusionment charm was still in place, but wasn't about to risk the witch hunter spotting their car.

Unzipping his back pack, he pulled out some of the knockout gas bombs Dean and Seamus had given them.

Harry always wondered what they smelled like, but he figured he could ask Cole when he woke up. That is, if his head hitting the wood floor didn't cause permanent damage.

The green smoke was still visibly spreading around the house when they ran out the door.

They weren't too far from the car (which was now completely visible) before the doors automatically unlocked. Once inside Amber slammed her foot on the gas.

In the backseat Hermione attempted to wake up Ron who'd inhaled a bit of the knock out gas. At any other time this would've been a comical situation, but like Harry, she was tense from the news.  
The atmosphere outside seemed as though it wanted to match their mood. Rain poured down on the car windows, and the nearby sound of thunder signaled a lovely night.

Harry began to open his mouth to ask why she'd honked, but Amber cut in.

"There was a man watching me," she said, straining to see through the rain filled windshield. "I only noticed him minutes after the other cars left, but I think he'd been there before that."

"He wasn't a witch hunter?" Hermione questioned, shaking the red head gently.

Amber shook her head "He looked more like armed hobo."

"You mean you nearly got us caught because an armed homeless guy was stalking you?"

The cheerleader tightened her grip on the wheel and sighed loudly. "I thought you magic folk were smarter," she laughed shakily.

Not in the mood to start a fight with the muggle, they waited for her to continue.

"Don't you understand?" She said. "I was _invisible_, and he still saw me."

* * *

Sleep was out of the question that night. Harry stared at the ceiling until the sound of chirping birds signaled a decent time to be out and about the halls.  
Ron had slept just fine thanks to the gas.

Out of all the things that they learned about recently like Mr. Short's kidnap, the attack on the school, the kidnapping of his friends, to the strange old man who saw through the spell, the one thing that was bothering Harry the most was Cole.

From what he could tell in the meeting yesterday, Cole had more than traditional witch hunting reason behind his actions.  
The way doubt had crossed his mind just before Mr. Quinn had convinced him otherwise.

'_Need I remind you what they've done?' _Cole's father had said.  
Something had changed inside Cole just then. If Harry could just fit the pieces together he could possibly stop the attack before it was too late.

The young witch hunter was their biggest link to wizards. A simple student inside the school with access to records and constant surveillance of them.  
Getting him on their side might just be the solution to everything.

The halls weren't as empty as Harry expected them to be.  
A couple students could be seen in just about every hall, putting up Halloween decorations and posters.

He spotted Emily and Andrew doing the same to the entrance hall of the cafeteria.

As he got closer he noticed the odd tittle printed on each of the posters.

"Wicca Wonderland?" he asked.

"This year's Halloween ball theme," Emily answered cheerfully. Harry wondered how one person could be that happy this early in the morning.

At least Andrew and him were on the same page. The teen yawned as he pasted another crooked poster on the wall.  
"The entire dance committee decided to have it based on the Wicca movie."

"_Wonderful,_" Harry mumbled.

Andrew didn't hear him over his next yawn.  
Harry waved goodbye to Emily and walked inside the cafeteria.  
He did a bit of a double take when he spotted Amber sitting alone in the corner. Only about two other people were up at this hour, and he was sure a girl like Amber prioritized 'beauty sleep'.

"Couldn't sleep?" Harry guessed as he sat next to her.  
She jumped slightly at the sound of his voice, having been only seconds away from snoozing off with her face in the plate of oatmeal.

Her eyes had visible dark circles under them as they shifted nervously to Harry's face, undeniably recovering from a nightmare.  
It wasn't too bad in Harry's opinion. That was his face most morning.

"Is it that noticeable?"

"Yeah," Harry paused, feeling he'd given the wrong answer. "I mean no! You look the same as usual."

Amber glared at him.

_Idiot,_ Harry thought.

The tired look on Amber's face plus the accidental morning insult made him feel somewhat guilty for his next request.

"I need you to change the rooming arrangements of some students," Harry said.

Amber eyed him curiously, half expecting for him to explain the reason.

"I need you to put Hermione with Linda, Me with Darren, and Mike with Ron," Harry told her with no further explanation.

"Change rooming arrangements?" She said to herself. "That'll be a tough one."

"Can you?" Harry asked.

Amber nodded. "Planning to tell me why? What happened in the meeting? Or am I too much of a _mudblood _for you to care enough to?"

Harry stared at her, speechless. He didn't have to ask who's called her a mudblood.

The teen wasn't sure how to respond. He wanted to tell her she wasn't one, that Malfoy was just a jerk, but what good would that do? It could ruin everything.  
Treating her nicely could raise her suspicion. The fear could be lost.

Then again, was fear really controlling her anymore? Harry didn't doubt she feared Malfoy. Every day he saw the petrified expression on her face when Draco held her hand, sat next to her, or spoke to her.  
But was she really afraid of Harry anymore?

She feared what the magic could do to her if at the hands of the wrong person (Draco). Harry wasn't entirely sure he was on that list anymore. It was probably only the thrill of discovering magic that kept her on their side at the moment.

"You can find all that out at the meeting tomorrow."

"What meeting?"

"The D.A meeting," Harry answered. "You'd be the first _muggle_ to attend one." He said.

She paused unsure of the new nickname. Deciding it was better than mudblood, she smiled at him.

They stayed in silence for a couple minutes before Harry finally got the question he'd been expecting.

"So, about the broomstick ride…"

With all that was happening, Harry only managed a dark laugh. "Tell you what; if I survive the month, I'll let you keep my broom."

'_To add to the list of people rooting for my death'_

* * *

**A/N: Incase you skipped the author's note at the top : I'M SORRYYYYY.  
This may or may not make up for it: I'm getting homeschooled for junior &amp; senior year next school year (literally because of excesive work from my school. I'm not even kidding, no time for anything.)  
So yeah, longer updates on this &amp; future stories.  
ALSO: My fave reviewer (you know who you are) update you're story before I rip my hair out (no pressure XD ).**

**Regarding my story, it has come to my attention (wow that sounded professional...Just killed it, didn't I?) that I have some inaccurate things about schools in London &amp; how they work. I'll be sure to change some of them, but not all (like at the beginning, dollars-pounds..money things). Basically just that...the uniform thing didn't really strike me as a big issue (not ALL schools have uniforms. I did a lil research).**

**This is irrelevant, but my birthday is in like 1 day...so reviews would be the best present ever (just saying CX )#DoItForThePuppies.**

**And one other thing: I have a youtube channel now where I make amvs. So far I have one of Draco &amp; one of the anime Black Butler. (username : Mitsukilau)**

**THANK YOU IF YOU READ THIS CHAPTER &amp; REMEMBERED I EXIST !**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: 'SHE'S ALIVE!'. Yup. I'm back.  
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH DFIHSDFKGNAK!  
I blame the delay on school &amp; my new favorite anime 'Pandora Hearts'.  
Well, I wont bore you with my author's note.  
HOPE YOU ENJOY!**

* * *

**Chapter 19**

One by one the cafeteria was filled with more students. Harry stood up to sit at his usual table, leaving Amber sleeping inches away from a face first encounter with her bowl of oatmeal. He moved the tray out of the way before she lost consciousness from sleep deprivation. For now, that was about as nice as he planned to be.

They made some small talk before she finally snoozed off. To Harry's irritation the main topic had been Draco.  
Amber had finally found out why he'd 'dated' her. The Slytherin had figured that if he went out with a popular cheerleader, he could get all the 'nerds' to do his homework, along with other privileges that came with Amber's inner crowd. He hadn't officially dumped her yet.

Amber appeared somewhat happy about that, even if she hadn't say it, it was written in her eyes. She had genuinely liked Draco. She found all this out in the nurse's office after she'd helped him get there. To Harry's delight, Malfoy caught a 'mudblood' flu.

It was quite harmless, but Pansy Parkinson (Draco's actual girlfriend) showed up and kicked Amber out of the room. The pug-faced snake acted as if Draco being sick was the start of the apocalypse.  
Amber had stayed behind and heard Pansy talk about how he should just dump the naive girl already.

A glimmer of hope shone in Amber's eyes when she told Harry that Draco hadn't exactly replied. Though, he was a bit busy puking his guts out.

They stayed in silence as Amber fell asleep .He noticed the peaceful look on her face as she slept. Harry wondered if it would remain that way for long or if another nightmare from the previous night would occur.

With Hermione or Ron it was almost a normal part of their school routine to face life threatening danger, it had been since year one. Amber was only just adjusting.  
On top of that, she had no magic to protect herself with. Their powers were what kept the secure enough to sleep at night. He could only imagine the trauma he was putting the privileged life girl through.

With one last glance at the silky locks of jet black hair sprawled across her face, he walked away. Harry took his tray of now luke-warm food and sat down in his usual spot near the corner window. It wasn't until Mike and Darren arrived that he stopped awkwardly moving his breakfast around his tray.

Needless to say, it was not the good morning welcome he had planned.

"Saw you talking to Amber," Mike said. "No chance, man."

Harry felt his face heat up. "I wasn't—I don't _like _her!"

Mike twirled his dark blond hair in a sarcastic-girly manor. At times, Mike reminded Harry of a friendlier version of Draco than he did Ron. "Riiiight, so why were you sitting with her…_alone?_"

"Oooh, Harry likes someone," Linda cooed, coming up from behind him.  
The young wizard jumped slightly, having been about two seconds away from punching Mikes face. He decided a lecture about 'playing nice' from Linda wasn't worth the effort.

"Who is she, Harry?" Linda asked.

"He likes Amber Clarck," Darren said casually. He gradually appeared more and more uninterested in conversations these days, spending most of their time together drawing.

" I. Do. Not."

Linda sat next him, noticing the dark circles under his eyes.

"Have you been sleeping at all? You look like a zombie," She nagged.

"_Probably up all night thinking about Amber,"_ Mike mumbled.

Harry kicked him under the table and nodded. "I slept a bit," he lied. "Just been staying up longer than usual is all."

"Hanging out with girls you don't like and lying about midnight travels," Linda said, her tone turning slightly cold. "Does sound like you, Harry."

"How did you—"

"Hermione's dorm is right next to mine," She said. "I heard her leave last night."

Harry wished Ron and Hermione would hurry up; he didn't exactly like this muggle interrogation first thing in the morning.

"We did say we had plans." Harry told them, and attempted to change the subject "How was Ajah's party?"

Linda sighed. "Whatever."

He took the avoided answer as _it sucked._

Ron and Hermione appeared just when the silence began to get uncomfortable.

Linda smiled at their arrival, eventually surrendering to their unpredictable nature. Mike and Darren weren't fazed by the argument and simply acted as usual.

Conversation carried on. Harry waited for the right moment to bring up the muggle protection program.  
Luckily no one was specifically focused on any of the current topics; the plan was brought in smoothly.

"Have any plans this week?" Harry asked.

The skeptic looks from the muggles were expected.

"We have no plans, honest," Harry reassured them. "All of us can hang out all week. We have tomorrow and Friday off, right?"

The muggles thought about it a bit before answering. Noticing the sincerity in Harry's eyes, they nodded.

"Well, we were planning on camping at a nearby park. It's a tradition we do during the beginning of October," Linda told them.

Darren looked up from his sketch pad, seemingly interested in the topic.

"It's _really_ fun," he said. "There's so much to do, and at the end of the night, we tell ghost stories."

"It's pretty childish," Mike shrugged. "But we've been doing it since first year."

"Sounds great!" Hermione said, unsure of Harry's sudden open schedule. Regardless, she played along.

The rest of the time was spent with the muggles speaking non-stop about their camping trip.  
Harry would've been intrigued, or even delighted at the idea had the circumstances been different.

He had one sole reason for going: protecting the muggles.

Neither of the three were safe any longer. Their life had turned into a sign post with the word _deathtrap _written in all directions. Harry didn't how secure they were in school, but anywhere outside was hazardous.

The W.S.S was just waiting for one of his friends to step outside school grounds.

Cole entered the cafeteria just minutes before the bell rang. Harry snickered when he saw the big purple bruise at the side of his face. Maybe if he hit the floor with just enough force next time, it would knock him back into his senses. On what planet was kidnapping innocent people the right thing to do?  
What could the wizards have possibly done to deserve this?

Harry glared at him with burning hatred, not looking away when the witch hunter's eyes met his.  
Cole glared back, but quickly broke the staring contest.

Like the night before, there had been guilt in his eyes. He'd appeared so sure of his decision then, could he be backtracking?

If he wasn't so worried about protecting the muggles (also Cole's fault), he would spend more time investigating the strange boy.

Harry had next to zero clues as to what Cole's past with wizards was. One name kept coming back to his memory whenever he tried to figure it out : _Agnes._

Cole had mentioned someone by that name last time they spoke. Harry was sure he'd heard that name before that too.

Whoever she was, she may just have all the answers Harry so desperately needed.

* * *

According to Ms. Ross, the wizards were making fast improvements on their computer skills.  
Not yet at an average muggle level, but they had moved from '_Paint_' to '_Power Point'_. Yes, quite the accomplishment.

Even during classes Harry made sure to sit next to the muggles. Being in the classroom with the teacher nearby did allow him to let his guard down slightly and act as he usually would, without constantly glancing behind his shoulder.

Throughout most classes, he just let the muggles do most all the talking. The main topic was always without fail; the camping trip.

From what he learned so far, they got the day off school, because of a beginning of Fall a festival was held at the camping site. They wouldn't be the only ones going.

Most all the students go there each year, but more than half return home or to the school when it ends. Since it was the beginning of soccer season, there would be a big match between schools there. Mike had entered, and was urging Ron to do so as well.

He hadn't stopped pestering him to join the soccer team since he first saw him play, but with all that had happened, there hadn't really been much time to think about such luxuries.  
Ron looked hesitantly at Harry who nodded in encouragement.

Partial jealousy couldn't be avoided. Mike had (of course) neglected to as if _he'd_ like to participate. At least the mockery from his first soccer match had stopped.

Harry tried to fill his head with happy thoughts, like the fact that Malfoy had the flu.

* * *

The first hours of class passed by really fast. Before he knew it, Harry he was opening the door to room 413.

His mind couldn't seem to concentrate on any of his lessons. The muggles were alone, unprotected.

What if Gled or Cole chose to kidnap them now? What should criminals care that they were inside a school building?

'_Amber is with them,' _He reminded himself.

His nerves hardly eased at that thought.  
Divination with Trelawney only made matters worse.

"Hey, Harry?" Ron said, looking up from his crystal ball. He sounded as if he'd just seen a spider.

"What?"

"I saw it again," He mumbled. "The L shaped object I saw near the beginning of this month."

"You mean you actually saw something that time?" Harry said amused.

Ron nodded grimly. "Except, I know what it is now."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Ron made a symbol with his hand Harry was only too familiar with from all those action movies Dudley watched.

"Muggle weapons," Ron eyed Harry grimly. "The ones we saw in 'Wicca'."

* * *

Amber appeared to have caught up on some lost sleep during her classes, leaving room for panic to begin settling into her system as they approached the basement.

Once Harry had told her how cramped the D.A meeting usually were, she'd suggested it be held on the underground part of the school. She assured him both A and B team would be able to have enough room in their new location. A total of Sixteen wizards could now attend the meeting.

According to her, no one ever went there because of the area being generally unpleasant. However, there was some lighting, room, and privacy. That was enough for Harry.

After texting everyone the directions, he let Amber show him the way.  
Everyone else had already arrived, but Harry had left to check on the muggles as soon as his wizarding classes had ended.

So far he hadn't gotten a very good description of what the school basement looked like other than a single text from Ron:

'_**Spiders.'**_

The cheerleader had worse fears than spiders at the moment. With each step she took, Harry could see her breathing increase at the thought of meeting the wizards.

While she may not be as afraid of Harry as she once was, she was still about to encounter nearly ten armed wizards in an underground room where no one could hear her scream. At first she'd been excited for the meeting. Harry had promised her they would tell her a bit more about their world, but now worriment had surpassed the curiosity.

Even with Harry having assured her that the exchange students wouldn't try hexing her, Amber always avoided any contact with them during school hours. Other than her forced alliance with Draco and Harry, she only ever hung around muggles.

Meanwhile, Harry couldn't figure out if he should try to calm her down, or let the fear control her once again.

They reached a part of the school Harry hadn't known existed. The corridors were dark, with only the glowing red exit sign to provide light. They'd taken so many previous turns to get here, Harry wasn't sure he could remember the way back.

"Been in Walker High long?" Harry asked Amber in attempt to both rid them of the awkward silence and calm her down with small talk.

She shook her head "I enrolled here in two years ago. Before that I had private tutors.  
"Quite a boring story," She continued. "I'm more interested to hear yours."

Harry shook his head. He was about to tell her to wait till the meeting to learn about wizards, but as if reading his mind, she stopped him.

"Not your weird other world life," She said. "_Your life."_

"My life?" Harry echoed. "Um, what do you want to know?"

Amber bit her lip thoughtfully deciding what to ask. "What are your parents like?"

"Never met them," Harry replied. "I live with my uncle and aunt."

"Oh. What are they like?"

"They're about as pleasant as horse manure," Harry said.

Amber laughed, but her smile didn't last.  
They'd reached the dark, downward staircase that lead to the basement door.

She shot Harry a panicked look.  
Before she could turn and run back, Harry grabbed her shoulder.

She tensed.

"Hey," He said. "Don't worry, they won't hurt you. You're with me."

Amber relaxed slightly and grabbed his hand. It was warm, partially from sweat, but he didn't pull away.

"Don't get the wrong idea," Amber said. "It's just because...you know,"

"You're scared," Harry finished, giving her hand a squeeze. "I get it."

Amber nodded.

Harry sighed sarcastically. "Muggles," He said, and led the way.

* * *

A single light bulb illuminated the vast stone wall room. Ceiling pipes covered almost every inch above, cracks in them that where never bothered to be repaired had caused several puddles to form on the floor. The temperature was so cold Harry was surprised to see cobwebs. How could any arachnid survive this temperature? Two rows of metal columns were placed on opposite sides of the room, giving Harry a bit more security that this run down place wouldn't come crashing down.

"On the bright side, I haven't seen any rats," Hermione said after seeing Harry's slightly disgusted expression.

The wizards sat in a circle, smiling up at Harry's arrival. Other than the shivering, they didn't seem to be too affected by the room's atmosphere.

Harry smiled at her. "No, it's great."

"Definitely more room to practice, all it needs is a little cleaning up," Lavender agreed.

"I know a couple cleaning spells," Hermione chipped in.

Ron eyed her sarcastically "of course you do."

"Um, Harry…I think you have something on your shirt," Dean laughed, signaling to his back.

Amber had gone from holding his hand to hiding behind him and griping the back of his shirt.

He didn't think she'd get stage fright this soon, given that she was always upfront in all the cheer routines.

Uncertain as to why introducing yourself in front of a bunch of wand readied wizards was so frightening; he grabbed her arm and dragged her forward.

With the force he had to use, an average person would've stumbled. Amber's cheer practices had given her a head start on balance.

The muggle stood there, all the wizards' eyes on her.

Harry had previously informed them she would be attending. They hadn't been in school too long so most of the wizards hadn't known which muggle Amber was. By the way they looked at her Harry could see just how fascinated they were by her.

He doubted any of them had ever met a muggle besides some of their parents that knew their secret. To them she was like the link that connected the two schools. All the questions they wanted to ask her about the modern teen muggle world could be answered without any suspicion.

It wouldn't be like asking a muggle born at Hogwarts. From an early age they'd adapted to the wizarding world, missing out on the growing experiences and changes it had to offer. Amber hadn't.

Even so, it didn't look like she was about to do anything other than stare at that oh-so-interesting spot on the floor.

Harry coughed loudly. "Guys, this is Amber. You know…the one I told you about."

Some wizards nodded, remembering one of their first meetings where harry had explained the reasons why Amber would keep their secret.

A couple of the girls looked somewhat discouraged. They'd probably planned to ask Amber all sorts of things about the newest muggle clothing trends.

Amber's fear of them probably wouldn't allow space for much conversation.

"I'm guessing she's seen 'Wicca'?" Seamus smirked in attempt to lighten the tension. "She must know about that human sacrifice ritual before we start?"

Amber looked up, startled.  
The room began to break out in laughter until Harry glared at them.

"It's okay," Hermione assured Amber, patting at the floor next to her.

Amber took the signal and sat down, a bit less tense.  
She'd never spoken to Hermione much, but had spent enough time with her to feel a bit more at ease seated next to the witch.

The meeting finally began.  
Harry summed up the basic information he'd learned so far; Gled, the witch hunter's soon to be attack and the kidnap plot. He left out _Agnes_ and the man Amber had seen last night, not feeling those unsolved topics to be of much relevance.

The young teen could feel the dread in the room build up as he spoke of the devious plot against them. He'd felt this same feeling before several time; a feeling of impending death. During his first year, Harry had felt it when he'd told Ron and Hermione about the philosopher's stone. Again as he read the words on the wall, written in the blood of Filtch's precious cat. And again in his fourth year when the Triwizard champions were announced. The room was filled with a growing darkness, like a ghastly storm waiting to occur.

"How do they know so much about us?" Justin asked.

"We have a couple theories," Hermione answered. "The main one is that they have some squib allies."

The doubtful expression on Hermione's face didn't convince Justin that was the case. "What about the other theories?"

"There's many. The worse one would be more kidnappings. I doubt this plan is their first time; they've probably held several wizards hostage and pried them for information.

"How much they know is still a mystery." Harry continued. "Their _lab _is the answer to that."

"Great,_ great_. How do you suppose we get in? Have any clue where it is?"

Harry mulled his question over, his footsteps echoing as he paced in the cold room.

Even if he could find the lab, there was no knowing what was in there. For all they knew, it was a sure death trap, a dead giveaway. Plus, they needed all the free time they could get to be used up on training for the soon to be attack.

"I'll go," Amber said. It was the first time she'd said anything since the meeting began.

"What?"

"The lab," she said. "I'll find it, get in, and bring back reports." Her voice was no longer the one of the scared high school girl it that it had been in the hallway. If anything, it boomed with determination.

"Are you mad?" It's way too dangerous!" Harry told her.  
The D.A members looked just as shocked as he sounded. There was no way a powerless human could win a fight.

"So?" She argued, standing up. "I'm just the dispensable muggle. The information in the lab could just save your ass. You _need _to train before the attack."

"She's got a point there, mate," Ron said.

"There's no way she's going," Harry glared at Ron.

"Agreed," Lavender said. "You'll get yourself killed. Maybe one of use coul—"

Lavender stopped herself. The angry look on Amber's face made her realize what it sounded like she was insinuating.

Amber crossed her arms and swished her hair in Lavender's direction. "Oh I get it; a weak muggle like me couldn't handle such a complex task.

"I'm going no matter what you say," She said, turning to Harry.

"Are you always this aggravating when you don't get what you want?" Harry spat.

Amber ignored the low pitched '_ooohhs' _coming from Dean and Seamus.

"You'd do the same if someone was about to attack _your_ school, wouldn't you?" Her tone was no longer angry. Harry saw genuine concern in her eyes at the thought of him not letting her go.  
She was right. If someone were about to attack Hogwarts, his teachers, and friends, he wouldn't hesitate.

"Fine." Harry said coldly.

He'd never understand that girl. One second she's about to wet her pants, the next she's lunging herself into certain death. _Geez._

It didn't leave much excitement for training.

Still, there was no way Harry would cancel the session. It didn't matter how much he wanted to lunge at Amber's neck. Yes, he was mad. It was as if all he did to try to protect the people around him would go to waste because of the wreckless girl. Not to mention he didn't like losing arguments, especiallyagainst aggrivating, hot headed girls like her.

The wizards assembled in partners, facing each other. Even with all the members in the room, there was still enough space for Harry to move around, instructing each group with their hexes.  
Amber stayed at close distance to Harry, wild-eyed and observing the groups.

Occasionally she'd get overly distracted by all the action and stop in her tracks to watch. Harry decided to grab her hand after another wand blast rocketed only inches away from her face.

Seamus dodged another spell as Amber passed by. "Wouldn't want to get hit by that one," Seamus told her. "Leg lock curse, takes real skill to duck that one."

"Right," Amber said. "Just dodge, right? I bet I could do it."

"Could you now? We'd have to ask your guardian there to let you try."

Harry ignored Seamus' comment and turned to answer Amber's unasked question.  
"As stated by the name, it _locks _your legs together. There's a counter curse if you get hit by it," Harry shrugged, still annoyed from having lost the previous argument. "By all means, do prove your amazing muggle fighting skills," he said sarcastically.

Amber pulled her hand away from Harry's grip and placed it on her hips. Her dark brown eyes shone with a glint of excitement.

"Bring it on _wizard."_

She took a couple steps back, leaving more than enough room for Harry to position himself and his wand.

Harry's eyes widened, surprised that Amber actually took on the challenge.

"As you wish _muggle," _Harry half laughed.

The training had stopped. Every eye in the room was on Amber and Harry now.  
She genuinely couldn't get hurt by this curse. If she wanted to try it, Harry wasn't about to stop her.

Amber positioned herself and Harry lifted his wand, pointing it straight at her chest. The room was now dead silent. He looked into her eyes and she gave a determined nod.

Harry smiled calmly at her, eager to see that aggravating cheerleader lose.  
Ready. Aim. _Fire._

* * *

**A/N : Thank you for reading!  
****The next chapter will probably take less time because i'm going on vacation for a week so I'll have time to write (yes, I'm skipping school. Sue me.)  
I know not much happened in this chapter (SORRY). But i'm like 99.999999% positive the next will be a bit more interesting.**

**PWEASE REVIEW. PLEASE. I'M ON MY KNEES RN BEGGING (not really , but please).**

**HOPE YOU LIKE THI CHAPTER! HAVE A GREAT WEEK &amp; A HAPPY HALLOWEEN! *laughs like a witch*  
*awkwardly exits room***

**P.S: Thank you LadyKeyes for editing this chapter. You rule**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: IM SORRY.  
****It took me a month, I feel so bad about that. Lots of stressful life events took place &amp; other stuff got in the way. DONT HATE ME!**

**Anyway. Hope you enjoy. don't kill me, i like life(at times) &amp; hope my american readers had a happy thanksgiving :)**

**P.S: I edited this chapter. My beta will send me the beta edited version either saturday(tomorrow) or tuesday**. **If you 100% don't trust me &amp; will yell at me for possible mistakes I may have missed, i suggest waiting until then. (this message will be removed when the beta version is up).**

**IMPORTANT: If you started reading this fic since my last update, something went wrong &amp; chapter 10 got deleted &amp; it just turned into a second chapter 11 ( chapter 11 was on there twice.) so it's back up now. sorry for the confusion.**

* * *

**Chapter 20**

A silvery blue lightning-like flare burst out of Harry's wand, lighting up the now darkened room. Since the wizard's stopped training, the lack of magical flashes had created a cavern-like atmosphere. Time slowed down as the sparks traveled across the room towards Amber's direction, straight towards her chest.

Harry's lips twitched into a smile at the thought of the snobby cheerleader's defeated face. The flash of light disappeared, the room turning near black again. He looked at where Amber had stood, expecting to see her body lying on the ground. To his surprise she was standing.

The blow had missed her by about three inches. She _dodged _it.

This would've been one of those moments where she would've had every right to boast, but even though she dodged the spell, her face read pure panic.  
Nevertheless, the wizards were speechless.

"Not bad for a muggle, huh?" she managed, her voice quivering slightly.

Harry shook his head, amazed. "Not bad indeed…think you can dodge another?"

"Maybe," Amber said. "Care to make a bet?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "What do you want now?"

Amber's shifted her feet nervously. Whatever it was she wanted, Harry knew he wouldn't like it.

"If I dodge the next five spells…" She stopped. Her eyes begged Harry to say yes before she even asked.

"You have to let me fight in the battle against the witch hunters."

"_Are you fuc—" _he stopped himself. Nothing good came from shouting at her. All she ever did was yell louder. Deep breath in. Deep breath out.

"Do you have a death wish?" Harry asked, smiling through clenched teeth. Surely he looked more terrifying with his deathly calmness than he did yelling at her.

Amber didn't respond in fear of making Harry any angrier. She only glared at the ground as Harry looked to the group for backup. None came. Most all the members where either too in shock by Amber's request, or—like Amber—afraid to make Harry angrier.

Neville was the sole exception. "You should let her fight," he told Harry. "You can't protect all of us, Harry. Not from You-Know-Who, or the witch hunters." His voice wasn't defiant, only pessimistically grave.

Those last words hit him like a low blow to the stomach. The whole reason he created the D.A was to protect them. However, Harry's concerns weren't well founded. It wasn't only his friends he cared about, it was his own sanity.  
The young teen was unsure he could bear another death as a result of his existence. Cedric had been the last straw.

Harry's voice was devoid of anger when he replied. "If she dies, whose fault do you think it'll be?"

"Not yours," Hermione said, squeezing his shoulder. The sincerity in her tone almost made him believe it.

Harry clenched his fists and looked at Amber. "Fine. Die, get kidnapped. Do whatever you want. Don't expect my help," he hissed.

If she was hurt, she didn't show it. Amber only nodded.

"What are you staring at?" Harry growled. "Go back to training."

"Sir, yes sir," Dean and Seamus said in unison.

Harry rolled his eyes and grabbed Amber's hand again, not speaking to her for the rest of the lesson.

When it ended, Harry refused to look at her and said. "The festival tomorrow, you're going. Meet us in the morning."

She called after him—maybe to apologize or ask more questions—Harry pretended not to hear.

Neither Ron nor Hermione ever quiet enjoyed Harry's company when he was angry. Luckily for Hermione, she had to part ways with the two boys as the corridors split and she headed for the girls' dorms.

Ron simply pretended Harry wasn't in the room—a good tactic while he calmed down. Both teens shoved random clothing items into their bags, preparing for the camping trip. Harry muttered unintelligible words under his breath. Something along the lines of '_reckless, damn muggle, stupid cheerleader, etc.'_

It worked, his anger slowly dissolved, but his worry remained.

Without knocking, Mike and Darren barged into the room. Harry was unsure of what their first words were. Mike babbled rapidly about the camping trip, sparks of excitement practically shooting out of mouth. It was quite odd for him to be out of '_the cool' _like that. The journey to the camp site being mere hours away must've broken his well-built barrier.

Darren was on his phone, talking with what Harry assumed were his parents.

"And the behind the lake there's a ca—why the hell is an owl standing outside your window?"

_Bloody hell_

"Owl?" Harry said, innocently turning towards the window. '_Damn Hedwig,' _Harry thought. "Wow, that's er, quite strange."

"I think there's something on its leg," Mike said slowly and cautiously edging closer to the window, as to not scare the owl away.  
A normal bird would've taken flight by now, but Hedwig wasn't going anywhere until harry took the note attached to her leg.

Finally, a reply form Sirius, but why _now? _

Harry looked at the wide-eyed Ron whom was just about as lost at what to do in this situation as he was.

The air around Harry—along with the blood in his veins—grew cold as Mike lifted the window.  
In mere seconds Hedwig flew from the window to Harry, ignoring Mike's attempts to grab her.  
Gracefully, she landed on his shoulder, Mike gawking at the scene. Darren had dropped his phone in alarm and threw Harry a cautious look.

"_ Don't. Move." _He whispered, afraid of startling the creature. "_There's no telling if she'll peck your eyes out or not."_

As serious as the situation was, Harry was forced to use every ounce of his energy not to laugh at Mike and Darren's petrified faces.

Dementors? No. Owls were the muggle's most frightening experience of their world yet.

Harry made his way to the window and put Hedwig down on the ledge.  
"There's a note on it," Mike said.

Harry undid the note from her leg, internally cursing himself for his coming action.  
Unrolling it, his eyes flew by the note before he crumbled it up and tossed it out the window.

Internally screaming, the teen turned back to the awestruck muggles.

"Just a blank sheet," Harry lied. "Quite strange, right?"

Hedwig gave a confused hoot before Harry all but shoved her out the window. She wouldn't be too pleased to greet him tomorrow to say the least.

The four boys stared out the window at the fading snowy figure that was Hedwig taking off into the night sky.

Ron was the first to break the silence.

"Wow! I've never seen an owl up so close before!" Ron said.

Mike and Darren didn't see through the lie. Harry was surprised that those words escaped Ron's lips so convincingly. He wasn't one to tell lies so easily.

Mike only shook his head in amazement—he probably never really had seen one so close up. Luckily Hedwig was least likely to lead to the assumption that he and Ron were wizards. Just a random chance situation of an owl delivering a letter.

The only reply that came from Darren was "I'm drawing it."

"Anyway, you were saying something about a lake?" Harry told Mike.

"Right!" the memory from the last three minutes of Hedwig's visit were erased almost instantly by the mention of the lake. "_Hmmm…_ I'd be best if I show you tomorrow." Mike said, leaving the intrigue.

"Darren, weren't you on the phone with someone?" Ron asked.

Darren's eyes widened. He'd forgotten all about that since Mike opened the window. While he may not look like he was on to anything, the teen had been staring intently at Harry ever since he untied the 'blank' note.

"Oh _no,"_ Darren sighed and picked up the phone. "She hung up. Bethany is now officially going to murder me."

"Bethany?"

"My sister. We haven't exactly been on good terms since I painted the walls in my room on my last visit," he explained. "I told her I'd be stopping by to pick up our tent we left there last year."

"Great," Mike said. "We'll be lucky if we find it in the trash bins now."

"That bad?" Harry asked.

"She's _awful._" Darren laughed dryly. Harry had a feeling Darren didn't want to get into detail with he and his sister's relationship. If she was anywhere near as bad as the Dursleys, Harry understood why.

Darren shot Mike an apologetic look. "Sorry, I'll find a way to get us a new tent."

"Don't sweat it. I just got a new one this summer. I'd planned to let you keep the old one…not what I had in mind though."

The muggles helped them finish packing and left about a half hour later.

It had only been when Mike and Darren brought it up that he realized that he and Ron had no tent.  
"Are you going to look for the letter?"

Harry shook his head and signaled to the window. Autumn leaves were blowing everywhere, and the light sound of rain slowly began to reach their ears.  
There was no way that letter survived.

Harry sighed miserably. "I managed to read the name Snuffles at the bottom."

In his last letter Harry had asked his Godfather all sorts of questions. He'd told him about Cole, the W.S.S, asked if he knew why they'd been sent here. All those answered he'd waited an entire month to hear had just vanished with the wind.

"Need a pillow to scream into?" Ron asked.

Harry nodded, jumping face first into the bed, the muffled scream loud enough to reach a couple nearby rooms.

Just then, the door creaked open.

"Er—sorry to interrupt," a familiar voice said.

Harry lifted his face from the pillow to stare up at the both amused and concerned face of Hermione.

"Amber said to give you this…and this," Hermione told him. She placed a cardboard box on the floor, and handed him a rolled up sheet of notebook paper.

Harry unrolled it to find a letter.

_Dear Harry,_

_You took off so fast that I didn't get the chance to ask you if you had a tent for the camping trip. Though, I highly doubt you do.  
In the box is mine, you can share it with the red-head. I'll be sleeping in Ajah's this year. Please don't be mad anymore.  
Also, the rooming arrangement changes you asked for are still in progress._

_Sincerely, Amber._

_P.S: You still owe me a broomstick ride._

Harry was in awe at the neat, fancy handwriting. A smile began to from at the corner of his lips when he realized the paper smelled just like Amber's usual flowery perfume.

"Well, guess I'll be going then," Hermione said, exiting the room. "Get some sleep before tomorrow."

She shut the door behind her. It was only then that Harry noticed Ron's horrified expression. Just when he thought he'd stop being mad at Amber for the night, the worst came to pass.  
The red-haired teen was staring down at the now open box.

"This is bad," Ron stressed. "This is very _very _bad."

"What, what is it?"

"The tent," he said. "It's_ PINK,"_

* * *

Mike and Darren were very apologetic for not being able to drive the three wizards to the campsite. Mike's mom was already driving Linda, Mike, and Darren there, plus the luggage didn't really leave room for anybody.

But of course, Amber already had them covered. Her father showed up in that same fancy black car they'd _borrowed _to go to the W.S.S meeting.

The weather cleared up nicely after the light rain last night. There was still a light fall breeze in the air—overall Harry could tell it would be more or less sunny—the bright daylight just visibly rising.

Amber walked along side Harry wearing a dark blue fall dress, gray coat and matching gray boots. Her hair was braided to the side instead of in her usual tight cheerleader ponytail.

Harry on the other hand didn't look as nice. He hadn't wanted to wear most any of the clothes Amber got him other than a simple pair of new sneakers. It was a camping trip after all. Those nice clothes would easily get damaged, not to mention he would look way out of place.

He wore the Christmas sweater Mrs. Weasley gave him to cover up Dudley's hideous hand-me-down shirt and a baggy pair of jeans.

Ron dressed quite similarly. Hermione wore a brown sweater and dark jeans. Her curly hair was patted down thanks to a wool knitted hat. She might've just been the only one out of the three wizards who looked decent enough to be introduced to the strange man that was Amber's father.

A large bald man stepped out of the car. He looked like some type of super human Harry wouldn't exactly want to mess with.  
Even with the expensive black suite he wore, the shaping of overly large biceps was visible, along with an intimidatingly muscular neck, abdomen, you name it.

Even with the alarmingly athletic figure, a warm smile instantly crossed his slightly bearded face the minute he saw Amber. Such a kind smile on such a large man was one of the weirdest sites Harry had witnessed this week.

"There she is! There's my girl!"

Amber blushed as she was pulled into a bear hug.

"Dad—_air_," she gasped.

"You must be Amber's new friends," he said, smiling only at Hermione. Harry got the feeling he was the type of dad that didn't have any problem hiding he and Ron's dead body if they broke a personal space rule with his daughter.

Somehow pulling herself out of the hug, Amber signaled to each of the wizards.

"That's Hermione," she said, bracing herself for the guys' introduction. "That's Ron, and he's Harry. My _friends."_

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," Harry said, extending his hand. Mr. Clarck didn't take it. Harry curled his fingers back, shoving his hand awkwardly back in his pocket.

"Well then," Amber said hurriedly. "Shall we go?"

She grabbed her dad's sleeve, quickly pulling him to the driver's seat. Harry was thankful for that. The more eye contact he could avoid with her father, the better. Of course, it didn't help that he kept glaring at Harry and Ron through the rearview mirror.

It was a good thing Amber sat up front. If he could stay far enough away from Amber, maybe he would survive the car ride.

It was an hour long ride mostly comprised of glaring, failed small talk, and the continuous _Let it Be _Beatles album playing.

When they finally arrived, Harry and Ron where quick to exit the car after uttering a quick 'thanks for the ride'. Amber hugged her dad goodbye.  
"You're sure you can't camp with me…_again_ this year?"  
Mr. Clarck sighed, pulling away from the hug. "Amber, you know this is training season," he told her.

She nodded, smirking at Harry's petrified face for a moment. The thought of her dad being at the camp site was one that would guarantee zero sleep for him.

She waved goodbye as he drove off.

Only when he was about a mile's distance from the campground did Harry and Ron let out a deep breath.

"That was fun," Amber said. "I've never seen _you _scared before."

"Shut up."

"Training season?"

"My Dad's a soccer coach for the soccer team at college," she said. "Well, at least he is now. Before he was a professional boxer."

"You're kidding?" Hermione said in awe.

Amber rolled her eyes and picked up her bag, uninterested in her dad's career accomplishments. "I have to go find Ajah."

Before he could ask her to show them the way, she was off.

Harry looked around the camping area. It was a wide panorama composed of a flat grassy field surrounded by tall trees of various kinds. A couple meters off was visible path heading directly to the woods. The happy-go-lucky voices not far from where they were could've reminded Harry of anything _but _the forbidden forest. The sun had now fully risen, its rays of light dancing on fiery colored leaves of Fall.  
More cars arrived, mostly teenagers around their age. Only a few were accompanied by parents.

They all took the same rout Amber had. Harry figured they should do the same.

The campsite hadn't been that far from where they'd been standing, tall trees had fooled them to think so.

Harry hadn't been camping before. The closest the teen had ever gotten was at the Quidditch world cup.  
The area was enormous with wooden signs and trails signaling different areas. For those with excessive money, signposts for cabins were to be found among them as well.  
Chirping birds, carefree children, teenagers and adults made it a welcoming sight.

They reached a center point where several different paths divided. In the middle of it was a board listing daily activities any of the guest were welcome to attend. Only one was reserved; the soccer game.  
Anyone was free to attend, but the players' spot was already full.

A sheet titled _Teem Panthers _(Walker High's mascot). It didn't take long for them to find the name Mike Harris on there. Right below it was Ron's name.

"When did you—?"

"I wrote it," said a voice from behind them.

"I'm sorry," Mike said. "The sheet was getting full, and you just _had _to play!"

"We told him not to do it," Linda and Darren said in unison, coming up behind Mike.

Ron sighed, amused. "It's fine," he reassured Mike. Though, it sounded more like he was reassuring himself.

"I got an extra uniform," he said, throwing it at Ron.

The six made their way to a wide soccer field. Ron hadn't looked this nervous since the day he'd stepped foot in Walker High. However, Harry didn't fail to notice the excitement on his face as well.

They would play against two other schools that reserved spots at the festival.  
Harry could hear the hungry roars of excitement breaking through the barrier that had been the peaceful campsite.

Not a hint of jealousy plagued him today. The only thing he could feel as the afternoon breeze brushed against his face was content.

All the worries of the last couple weeks had been forgotten in those instances as he laughed alongside Linda Hermione and Darren at the enthusiastic hoots from Mike and Ron as they neared the soccer field.

On the benches the four held up signs with the words '_go walker high' written_ on the front. The back had Mike and Ron's name in bright red letters. The only complaint he really had was resisting the urge to enchant the sign in order to make them like those at quidditch games. Plain paper without moving letters really wasn't the same.

The one word Harry would use to describe the game: brutal.  
It was the complete opposite of what he'd experienced in the pep rally. That had been just an innocent celebration parade. This was kill zone.  
Insults from team to team were launched from the opposing benches. Popcorn, food, silly string and, and suspicious substances landed their way. Both claps and booing was heard each time a goal or foul was announced. Eventually water guns some teenagers brought entered the picture—it was glorious.

And that was just the action _off_ the field. The game itself had brought out the players' inner animal instincts. The last time he'd seen Ron run that fast was at one of their many near death experiences. He and Mike were blurs of blonde and red hair in the early afternoon wind.

Walker high had won the first game. The other team had been good, but not good enough. Ron had surpassed most everyone's expectations. While Mike had been the one to score most all the goals, Ron could steal the ball back from the opposing team faster than Harry could blink.

It mattered not that Harry was sure his throat caught flames—a cry loud enough to reach across Hogwarts –when Walker high scored the final winning goal of the game, his voice was still lost in the crowd.

Somehow finding Mike and Ron in the animal pack that was the crowd, the six united in the tightest group hug in history.

Mike spun Linda around. A strange thought of doing the same to Amber came into Harry's mind before Ron pulled them all away before the teens with the water guns reached their way.

Laughing the whole way, they reached an area far in the forest. Daylight poured in through cracks in the branches. Their sweat faces sparked in the dancing light. Harry couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun. He wasn't sure he _had _had this much joy before. Not for a second did he doubt that anything could ruin this day.

But as usual, he was dead wrong.

* * *

**A/N: " LAURALYDNEY, YOU PROMISED US A MORE EVENTFUL CHAPTER DSFLJHLFGHLA!" **\- **possibly some of my adoring readers.**

**IM SORRYYYY. As I said, lots happened, I hadn't updated in a while &amp; I left it there with the 3,600 words.**

**PLEASE REVIEW! GIVE MEH SOME HAPPINESS WHILE I UNDERGO EXAM WEEK BEFORE BREAK. PLEASEEE T-T . I know this chapter wasn't too awesome, but please?**

**Regardless, I hope all of you enjoyed :)**

**(just for the record, reviews encourage me to write chapters faster. not even kidding or blackmailing y'all rn. I'm sirius)**

**IMPORTANT: Incase you skipped it: read the last part of my author's note up top.**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: IM ALIVE!  
GAH. My computer broke, got new one...Writer's block. Finals. Er...Discouragement? Oh, I'm also a beta now...I had no idea it was so time consuming so Thank you LadyKeyes. Mer glob, you're awesome. I PROMISE NEVER TO RUSH YOU AGAIN.  
Anyhow...  
Thank you for reviews! (well...like 2 people reviewed, but not the point)**

**Hope you enjoy this (VERY...1 month?) late chapter &amp; have merry Christmas &amp; new-years or whatever you feel like celebrating.**

**Love you guys**

**-lauralydney :p**

* * *

**Chapter 21**

"_Remind me again why I'm doing this?_"

"_You chose dare, Harry_," Linda whispered back.

"_But I want to live!"_

"_Quit talking and do it!"_Mike hissed and all but sang the next line. "_Or would you rather run naked through camp?"_

"_I hate all of you,"_Harry said.

"_You love us,"_ Darren chuckled.

They were right. Harry had willingly gotten himself in this situation only about two hours after the soccer game. They'd grown tired of tree climbing and exploring the woods.  
Any other camp activities at this hour were family events only. Their fun only started around the evening when the families left and the teen campers stayed. Until then, Linda had come up with the horrid idea of truth or dare.

Of course, not wishing to lie to the muggles about any possible wizarding activity related questions, Harry chose dare. _.Stupid._

The first couple ones had been easy, but now he'd really been put to the test.  
When the muggles realized Harry would pick and do every dare each time—mostly due to his reckless Gryffindor instinct—Mike and Darren (mostly Mike) decided it would be fun to watch Harry launch water balloons at random passers-byers.

It was all fun and games until Amber's group passed by. It wasn't Amber he was worried about. After the whole pink tent thing, Harry didn't mind chucking water balloons at her.  
But the group was composed of…well…scary looking, athletic muggles.

If they caught Harry, he couldn't really defend himself with magic. Chucking water balloons at Dudley was one thing. Sure, he was stronger, but Harry had always been faster. These muggles, however, were jocks—_big_jocks.

The merciful muggles had given Harry another choice (running naked through camp) which he wasn't really going to take into consideration.

"_Here they come!"_

'_On second thought running naked through camp can't be that bad,'_Harry thought.

Just as he was about to back out, the muggles' conversation reached his ears.

"I heard Draco dumped _you_," Ajah said.

"No, we just sort of drif—_hey!"_Amber said. One of the taller jocks had grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"About time," he said. "Now you're going to the dance with me, baby,"

"You wis—!"  
Amber was interrupted by the splashing sound of a water balloon hitting the jocks face.

The childish muggle weapon drenched his entire hair, face, and shirt.

The group gasped in shock. A couple of the other jocks began to laugh quietly. Ajah simply gawked at the scene. Amber was the first to catch the wizard's head sticking out of the bush, soon bursting out into fits of laughter along with Harry's friends.

"_Why you filthy_—"

"RUN!" Amber shouted, sprinting towards the forest.

Harry was a bit surprised at the cheerleader's actions of ditching her group, but the fuming jock who'd already begun chasing after him gave him no time to ponder them.

In mere seconds the two were off, dashing through the trees and underwood. Linda, Mike, Darren, Ron, stayed hidden. However, it didn't take long for them to have to make a run too.  
While their hiding spot might've been good, by the sound of the screaming cheerleaders, they must've not been able to resist the urge to pellet them with the remaining balloons.

The more Harry ran, the more he noticed that he had no clue where the hell he was running to. The forest was a repetitive cycle of similar looking trees and Amber's swishing black hair meters away from him.  
He ran until he no longer heard footsteps behind him. Unlucky for him, he didn't hear _any_footsteps behind him anymore.  
They'd lost his friend's as well as the jock.

"_Am-ber_," Harry panted. "We lost him."

She stopped running, not looking nearly as tired as he was.

Amber shrugged and walked towards Harry. "Herny gives up easily. Any specific reason you hit him with a water balloon?"

_"Dare_," Harry managed.

To Harry's confusion, her smile faded. "Either way, thanks," Amber said, sitting next to Harry who'd all but collapsed on a nearby tree stump. "I'd been meaning to get away from them. Ajah is okay, but the guys are annoying."

About a minute of silence passed while Harry regained enough strength to answer.

"I wouldn't call her 'okay'," Harry said, recalling the way she'd brought up Amber and Draco's breakup.

Amber sighed. "Well, she's as close to 'okay' as it gets. Unless I count you, Ron, and Hermione."

Harry gaped at her, taken aback by her last comment.

She blushed a bit at his reaction. "Don't get me wrong, I still think you're a jerk for turning me into your human servant," she laughed. "But I don't think you're that bad."

"Not bad?" Harry questioned her. Ever since the last D.A meeting Harry had acknowledged that Amber no longer feared him. The way she had stood up to him to get her way was something the old Amber wouldn't have done. Still, he was surprised by the almost-complement.

He sighed, unsure if he was more worried that the fear was gone or relieved that he didn't have to pretend to be evil anymore.

A playfully menacing grin crossed Harry's face. "I could turn you into a toad right now, you know."

"But you won't," Amber sang.

"How'd you figure it out?"

Amber drummed her fingers on the tree stump. "I had my suspicions for a while now," she said. "I knew for sure you weren't evil in the D.A meeting. You'd have to be a real selfless person to want to protect so many."

She paused and thought for a second. "I still haven't figured out what you're protecting them from."

"Um…the witch hunters?"

She shook her head. "I know _that._ But there's something else. Something you haven't told me"

Harry bit his lip and nodded.

"Well spit it out then," Amber urged.

Harry ran a stressed hand through his hair. All the fun morning activities forgotten as he was reminded of the return of You-Know-Who.

"Voldemort," Harry admitted. The confused look on her face was an obvious signal that he should continue. "He's basically what you'd call the wizard version of Hitler, a complete and utter monster. Most wizards think he's dead—he was—but now he's back."

Amber's eyes widened. This had been the most Harry had ever revealed to her about the wizarding world. It didn't matter, her pleading gaze begging him to continue.

"His plan is to destroy all muggles and muggle-borns and create a pureblood world. A world without…well, _you._"

Amber had a funny look on her face. A tinge of worry was there, but she looked more confused than scared, something Harry found irksome.

"Right. Sure. So, I'm not an expert in the _wizarding world_ government," Amber said. "But isn't there some type of authority figure? One that, well, isn't a 15 year old boy?"

"As I said," Harry went on. "No one believes he's really alive. He is, I saw him return—can we not talk about this?"

Amber raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Well, for one he didn't want her to know Voldemort was specifically out to kill him. That and the fact that the more they talked about him, the more the blowing wind and slightly darkening sky made him uneasy.

"It's best you don't know," Harry advised. "Come one, it's getting cold here. Let's go back to the campsite."

He stood up, but Amber didn't move. Harry looked back in her directions. Her face was twisted up, hard in thought. It reminded Harry of himself in computer lab. One thing was for sure; Harry never expected what she said next.

"Voldemort is after you, isn't he?" Amber said. Even though she was looking at Harry, her voice was hollow, as if asking herself. "You said you saw him return…no one—not even the government—believes that he's back.  
"He must know that you know. That's why Voldemort is after you, right Harry?"

The blood in his veins felt cold at Amber's chilling discovery. While the reasons weren't completely correct, the fact that she had figured it out in less than a few minutes left him open-mouthed.

Harry laughed drily. "Hey, look at you! Never thought you had a brain in that pretty little head."  
He could see Amber's lips begin to move in reply and held up a hand. "Look. Don't worry about it, okay? I'll be fine," he reassured her.

Extending a hand to the doubtful looking Amber, they headed back to camp.

Neither Harry nor Amber knew how long they'd been missing. Linda and Hermione's welcoming, worry-filled scowls let Harry know it had probably been a lot longer than he'd thought.

Mike snickered when he saw Amber emerge from behind Harry. The families had already left camp. Harry arrived back just in time for the real fun to begin. However, the teen found he wasn't in the mood to take part in anything. The more he thought about it, the more it struck him how doomed his life really was.  
There really appeared to be no time for fun at all. The reminder of Voldemort's return had been quite constant until today. Caught up in the excitement of the day had given him a brief period of liberty from the tormenting reminder, but the mere mention of it moments ago tore apart that false sense of freedom.

Deathly, icy breaths of a Dementor could be felt breathing down his neck. That was the best way to describe his situation as he stared into the joyful eyes of his friends. If he didn't get his head in the game, they would pay the price.

"Harry? You okay?" Amber asked.

The rest of his friends had were already a couple meters ahead. "You zoned out," Amber said. Her eyes studied him. The young wizard knew she was aware that he wasn't 'okay'.

"You go on without me," Harry told her.

Amber looked hesitantly at the group in front of her, no doubt in his mind that she probably hadn't treated them very well throughout the years.  
He didn't stop to think about it too much and left her at the hands of fate.

Harry hopped his friends wouldn't be too mad when they noticed he was no longer walking alongside them. The guilt could come later, right now he needed to do the one thing that could ensure their safety for the night—find Cole.

* * *

The more he walked through the endless trails and camping spots of camp, the increasing doubt that the witch hunter was here became more of a reality. Harry's feet became sore after the first hour of searching the trails.  
Anger at the boy had also begun to build up. Harry had thought before that having Cole on their side would be a benefit, but the mere thought of having to talk to the boy responsible for all his misery since he stepped into Walker High was infuriating. How could he convince him they weren't evil when all he wanted to do was punch that muggle senseless?

Not that he had any idea how to convince him either.

It was dark by the time Harry gave up. He sat bellow a large tree near the entrance of the woods. The night wasn't very cold, but the light breeze—at least that's what he told himself—caused him to shiver slightly as he gazed up at the stars.

Unwilling to admit that sole mention of Voldemort's return was what had him shaking, Harry thought about Cole's whereabouts.  
Maybe it wasn't so bad that he couldn't find him tonight. It was a clear sign that Cole wasn't at camp. Harry and his friends could relax for tonight.

'_Yes, just relax for no—_'  
An un welcome rustling of leaves reached Harry's ears. His fluttering eyes where shot open.  
'_It could be an animal,' _Harry thought.  
Footsteps moved closer as did Harry's hand, reaching to towards his wand.

"_Don't move, wizard," _said a raspy voice behind Harry.

'_Not an animal. Not an animal.'_

For a decisive second that contained an eternity, Harry sprung out from behind the tree to face the threat. Unsure of how many or how armed they would be, the wizard fired directly without a moment's hesitation.

"_Stupefy!"_

Harry's eyes had barely adjusted to the dark forest around him when the sound of a large man hitting the ground was heard. If the man hadn't been sure if Harry was a wizard even after he got hit, he had to be after the lighting charm Harry did to scan his surroundings.

What caught Harry off guard the most was the man. _One man._  
After seeing the ominous seriousness the witch hunters had about capturing them, he wouldn't have doubted the probability of them bringing a whole army to take him down.

Carefully walking over to the body, Harry examined the man. He looked oddly familiar, but Harry couldn't quite place it—long gray hair, thick eyebrows, bushy beard. Even as he slept the man's features resembled an angry goblin. He definitely hadn't seen that creep before.

Still, there was an increasing Déjà vu sensation the longer he eyed the man.

He grunted and stirred, the effects of the curse beginning to wear off.

A rifle lay beside the man, Harry barely having noticed it—the man's face perplexing similarity had distracted him from the threat. Harry retrieved it to make sure there would be no inconveniences while he held him here for questioning.

Right now was his chance to get all the information he needed from a captured witch hunter himself. Harry thought back to the time he threatened Amber in order for her to keep her mouth shut and not expose them. Sure he could pull off that in order to get information from the man, Harry waited.

After about a minute of Harry's heart beating in his throat, the man awoke.

His wand didn't move from the man's chest as the muggle got to his feet.

"Who are you, what do you want?!" Harry demanded. His voice trembled, giving away his fear.

The man ignored Harry's question, a startled look on his face. Harry grinned, glad the man was afraid.

The smirk quickly left his face when he realized the man's expression was not due to him.

"My glasses!" said the man, rapidly dropping to the ground in search for them.

During that minute of waiting for the man to awaken, the young teen had expected various reactions when the aged muggle found himself at wand point, _this _was not one of them.

Harry looked at the ground. "Er…they're beside the tree."

He lifted his face from the ground, rushing over to grab them.

"_Oooofff! _That was a close one! Must've dropped 'em after that lovely greetin ye gave me there, young lad."

Harry was about to open his mouth to repeat his question, but the man held up a hand. "The name's Calder. Calder Quinn—

"_Quinn?" _Harry gasped, realizing who the man had reminded him of. Now it was clearer than before. Those pale blue eyes sent a fiery rage in his gut.

The man laughed at his reaction. "Familiar with the name, eh? I'm sure ye would be after breaking into the family house and all. Course, I'm sure yer not to fond of my family, wizard—oh put the bloody wand down already, I'm not here to fight the likes of _you._"  
_  
_Harry scoffed. "A witch hunter not here to fight a wizard? Right. And I'm a dentist who gives out candy."

Calder shook his head impatiently. "I'm not a bloody witch hunter! If I were, yer head would've been on a platter by now."

Harry raised an eyebrow but kept his wand up. Why should he trust this man? He was related to the leader the of the W.S.S. Heck, with his age, he was probably the founder.

Seeing Harry's skeptic expression the man reached in his pocket.

"You know, when yer up against a threat, it pays to be prepared." The man pulled out a smaller gun from inside his jacket.

Harry's lips began to move to utter another curse before the man held up another dismissive hand. "_however, _I did say I wasn't her to fight, didn't I?"  
He threw the gun at Harry's feet.

Harry scanned the man with curiosity. With his foot, Harry kicked the gun behind him. "Take off your jacket," he told him.

The man sighed, amused. "Smart for your age, aren't ye, Potter?"  
He did as Harry instructed and tossed the coat towards him. The loud impact confirmed Harry's suspicions of him having more weapons. That surprised him even less than the fact that the man knew his name.

Once he was clear, Harry lowered his wand. "What do you want?" Harry asked.

"Just to talk," Calder said.

"Talk?" Harry spat. "You're related to the Quinns! I've no reason to trust your words."

Even as he denied the request, Harry was still quite curious at what the man had to say. Questions about the W.S.S and Cole's past popped into his head. _Cole. _

This may be his only chance to get his answers on that unsettling teen. If there was anyone who knew anything about him, it was that man. With those vital pieces of information he may have, he could twist it in order to get Cole on their side.

Thinking better of it, there was a big chance the only words escaping his lips would be lies. It could all be a trap? What if more witch hunters were waiting to prance on him at any second?

Unsure of why he decided to trust the man, Harry nodded.

The man smiled slightly, his sad blue eye shimmering behind his glasses reminded Harry of Dumbledore—possibly the reason why he'd allowed himself to trust him.  
Then again, where had trust ever gotten him anyway?

* * *

**A/N:**

**Yeah...i know...short chapter**.  
**Just giving y'all a heads up : the next chapter will be pretty..er...climatic? Intense? IDK, but sh#ts gonna go down hehe...**

**SO I've decided to start replying to reviews in the Author's note. This way I can also reply to guest reviews. Hope y'all dont mind. If you do tell me &amp; I'll answer yo review differently or not at all.**

**Guest: Welp, just did update. IM SORRY. I know im slow T-T**

**SlytherinLegacy 338: Well...already replied to you...soooo XD um, hope you liked this chapter.**

**Please review! Review = faster updates.**

**Peace out!**

**P.S: If anyone is interested in a Harry potter / 2015 Disney descendants crossover, I just published a story like that on here ('Son Of Lucius'...yes...its about Draco)  
Why am I telling you? Well... er...not very popular crossover so it has no view XD ah life.**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: First off: this chapter goes out to Slytherinlegacie 338. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  
I'M BACK. And I brought a long chapter with me! (finally).  
****I want to thank all who left reviews (...like 3 people i think lol), but as you know I'll do it on the bottom author's note.  
****Hope you enjoy!  
****-Lauralydney**

* * *

**Chapter 22**

"This way!" Mike ordered. He was mostly speaking to the wizards. Linda and Darren dashed almost ahead of him. Harry struggled to catch up.  
As to where the hell they were taking him, he had no idea. All the three had said was to leave their tents behind and only bring sleeping bags.

Of course, Harry had no problem leaving the repulsing pink embarrassment of a tent he'd planned to bring, but the sleeping bags Amber had given them were still pink nonetheless.

Getting tired of their slow pace, Mike grabbed his and Ron's arm and proceeded to drag them through the twisting woods. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Linda roll her eyes and smile. It was quite rare to see Mike so enthusiastic about…well…anything really.

His cool was façade cracked with each step further into the forest.

"_Mike!"_ Linda panted. "We're not all pro soccer players here! Let's take a break, okay?"

Neither Harry nor Linda liked the devious smirk that crossed Mike's face. As usual, it ended with Linda shouting.

"Michael Harris, put me down!"

Linda kicked and clawed at him a couple times, but eventually surrendered to being carried over the shoulder like a flour sack.

After what felt like hours of a leg breaking hike, Mike finally announced their arrival at the destination.  
All Harry could make out was a clearing covered by trees. Go figure, Mike and Darren wouldn't let them through until they made a dramatic entrance of the moment.

"Ladies and dorks," Mike began.

Whatever he had planned to say next was never heard. Harry and Ron grabbed him by the arms and stepped into the clearing.

Harry had not been sure what to expect when the muggles said they had a surprise for them. 'Wow' was the only word he could use to describe the hidden wonder behind the trees.

_Wow._

The clearing was one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen. Silky grass and bushy white flowers coated the ground, looking like a heavenly pillow while illuminated by the glistening moon light in-between tree cracks.  
It was a spacious area that made Harry feel both calm and drowsy at once. Even in this muggle forest, the area appeared almost enchanted. A trickle of a creak could be heard in the far back of the area. Harry remembered the lake the muggles had mentioned once or twice when talking about this trip.

The young wizard had been curious as to why Mike had told them to leave the tents behind. The answer to his question was the twisting array of old, fallen trees that had formed a large wooden cave in the center of the eye-catching panorama.

If the moon hadn't been enough to provide them the light they needed, the stars shone brighter than Harry had ever seen them here. A mixture of the burrow and Hagrid's hut were at play in the atmosphere.

"Close your mouth before you catch flies," Mike told them.

"It's so…._so_…"

"Amazing?" Mike finished. "I know. Darren and I found it during our first camping trip here—where we met Linda actually. Don't tell anyone else about it though. We don't want any other campers claiming this spot."

Ron and Hermione continued gawking. Harry—already over the shock factor—was at loss for words once again when he realized that the three teens he'd met less than a month ago were sharing such a dazzling place with him. Had they really become that close in such a short amount of time?

_Friends with muggles. _Never in a million years did he imagine this as a possibility. Every muggle he'd ever met had either feared or hated him thanks to the Dursleys. That was how Harry imagined most every muggle would treat him. With them, he almost always forgot he was in the company of muggles.

They weren't the alien, non-magic folk, just friends. _His_ friends.

"Bad news guys…I lost the lighter." Darren said, dumping out the contents of his bag.

"Crap!" Mike said.

Darren sheepishly foraged through the materials on the floor, the cold air around them becoming noticeable.

"Go look for firewood," Harry told the muggles. "We know how to make a fire."

The muggles looked at them in disbelief, but left to get the supplies.

"Harry!" Hermione said once they were out of ear reach. "What are you talking about? We have no idea how t—

"Are you a witch or not?" Harry laughed, pulling out his wand.

"Oh, right."

Behind the wooden cave was a large, dried out spot of dirt coated with ashes. Harry guessed this must be where the muggles made the campfire each year. With a flick of his wand and a couple of dry fall leaves, a blazing fire stood tall by the time the muggles returned.

"_How on earth did you do that?!" _Mike gasped.

"_That's impossible!" _Linda exclaimed.

"_Brilliant!" _Darren said.

Warm and comfortable, the teens spent the rest of the night telling ghost stories. Darren did most of the telling. His creative imagination really came alive with a dark side that night. Being the quiet one in the group, Harry hadn't expected him to be much of a storyteller.

A couple times, Harry could have sworn he heard the whispering of the Glass Eyed Witch. While he may be blind as a bat without his glasses, Harry wanted to keep his eyes intact.

When they weren't listening to Darren's stories, the teens poked fun at Harry and Ron's sleeping bags.

The wooden cave was never used that night—the beautiful stars shone too bright for the beauty to be wasted.

Eventually, the dreaded moment of silence in which his friends were fast asleep came to pass. His conversation with Calder came flooding back to him like an ocean of suppressed memories.

* * *

"_I came to give ye a warning," Calder told him. "My son will stop at nothing 'til every wizards' taken their last breath."_

_Harry sighed and sat down next to the man. "I figured that much," he said. "But why?" he asked, recalling the meeting. _

_Calder scratched his head thoughtfully. "Why he's trying to kill ye? Good question indeed. He along with myself are very aware that wizards pose no threat. I was the first to obtain this new information. This was before the war." He finished darkly._

"_You didn't answer my question."_

_Calder smiled sadly. "It's a long, tragic story. It'll do ye no good to hear it."_

_Harry tapped his foot impatiently "So why are you here? To tell me something I already know?" _

"_No, actually, I came to give you this too," Calder said, pulling out a sheet of paper from his pocket._

_Harry took it, his eyes immediately recognizing the twisting symbols and numbers on the paper. _

"_A map?"_

"_Not just any map," Calder said. "It's the location of yer teacher. It leads to a small cabin surrounded by a fence, the place where we questioned the Death eaters back in the day."_

"_Witch hunters questioned death eaters?" Harry said in disbelief. _

"_We sure did, back when I was their leader. Worked right alongside that organization of yours. Can't recall their name… Order of The Phoenix, was it?_

_Harry gaped at the man. None of this made sense. How could the Witch Hunters have gone from fighting with them as trusted allies to bloody murderers attempting to annihilate the Boy Who Lived? Calder seemed to be the only sane witch hunter left. Well, ex-witch hunter that is._

_Calder's face was unreadable. Even though the man knew the wizards weren't evil, that wasn't a good enough reason for the man to help him, not to this extent. He was going up against his entire family—his own son. Something was missing, something else he wasn't telling him. _

"_Just do one thing for me," Calder said._

'There it is; the usual impossible favor_.' Harry thought._

"_Keep an eye on my grandson, Cole. He doesn't know what he's doing, and I don't trust that Gled. Cole hasn't been the same since Agnes and I left."_

_Harry's eyes widened at the name. _Agnes_. Harry knew she had something to do with this whole mess. The young wizard gripped the map tightly, but before he could ask the question that had plagued his mind for weeks, Calder beat him to it._

"_Who's Agnes?" Calder guessed. "That, young boy, is part of that long tragic story that'll do ye no good. A sweet young girl that Agnes. She meant an awful lot to Cole. The poor young lad thinks she betrayed him. 'Course, she'd never do a thing like that, but that's just what his father would have him think."_

_Harry nodded, beginning to understand how Cole felt. "He does that a lot, doesn't he? Keep the truth from him?"_

_Calder didn't respond. Instead, he took off his glasses and handed them to Harry._

"_My own invention," he told him. "Well, with the help of a couple wizards for the special effect. They'll help ye see through the magic."_

_Harry wasn't sure what that meant so he out them on. Immediately, the world around him transformed in to a black and white scenery. A bright glow was coming from somewhere beside him—no, the bright glow _was_ him._

_Harry looked up at the man in realization. "It was you! You were the man Amber saw at the meeting!"_

"_Ah yes," Calder said. "The young girl in the car. Gave her quite a scare I bet. All that honking nearly left me deaf. These glasses can detect any magic source in the air—objects, people, you name it."_

"_What were you doing there?" _

"_Same as you," Calder said simply. "Trying to break in. That's when I saw yer weak magic barrier. I had to get close to the car to do my job—protecting ye."_

"_Are you sure you want me to have these?" Harry asked, taking off the glasses._

"_We're making more as we speak, you can keep those."_

"_We?"_

"_As I said, I'm no witch hunter" Calder began explaining. "The complete opposite to be exact, I'm the member, and founder—not to brag—of the W.P.S. Part of the reason I'm spending the night in the forest today to protect the wizards."_

"_What?"_

"_Wizard protection society. It was founded not long after I gathered enough evidence about the magic folk." Calder continued. "Not many members though…pretty much why I must carry all the equipment. The witch hunters aren't too friendly with us to say the least."_

_Calder picked up his jacket and gun. "You keep those glasses close to you, wizard," he said. "Someone around you is not what they seem."_

_With that, the strange man took off into the dark forest. Once again, Harry was left with more questions than answers._

* * *

While falling asleep under the stars had been nice, waking up with the blinding broad daylight was not.  
Harry gripped the glasses Calder had given him from the inside of his pocket. He felt the serious need to justify that last night's events had really taken place. Regardless, he could always go back and talk to Calder incase the encounter still felt unreal.

He'd slept great. No nightmares or visions had disturbed his slumber. Harry had to partially thank Calder. The wizard _protector _had said he'd be in the forest, keeping an eye out for the witch hunters. Calder—like Dumbledore and Mad eye—put him at ease around threats.

Rubbing his eyes, he began to think this day might just go his way. He'd have breakfast with his friends at camp, they'd go to the lake up ahead, play a bit of soccer, and maybe even meet up with Amber in the process.

After he returned from his talk with Calder and reunited with his friends Harry had been surprised to see Amber smiling and laughing alongside them.

"_She's not as bad as I thought," _Linda had told him. _"I think we brought out her inner-fun-side today."_

It had been a strange sight witnessing the preppy cheerleader connecting with Harry's awkward geeky friends. According to Linda, they struck up a conversation with Amber on different fiction books and anime. _Books. Anime._

Harry smiled viciously. Oh she was so getting teased for this later.

Harry rolled over in his sleeping bag and winced. All that running from yesterday had left his legs sore. Not having realized how out of shape he truly was, he would be surprised if he could even stretch without feeling like his thighs were aflame.  
As long as he didn't have to make too many rash movements, his legs would recover from the pain smoothly.  
Ron and Darren were snoring next to him. Darren's were more of a deep-breathing-type snore while Ron's imitated a congested lion. He couldn't see the others over Mike and Darren's lumpy sleeping bag bodies, but by the lack of movement he guessed they were asleep as well.

Peaceful, calm morning. Just what Harry needed. Just what he thought it would be.

It wasn't until a blood chilling scream was heard in the distance. The sound was abruptly cut short, almost like hitting a pause button on obnoxiously loud music.

Harry sat up, startled. His friends snapped awake. Had it not been for them, Harry would've thought the scream had never existed. The swift manner in which it had disappeared had caused him a second of doubt. The alert teens around him debunked that theory.

Everyone looked at each other with the same drowsy, confused expression. Mike was the first to notice it. The bright purple sleeping bag beside the muggle was empty. It was the same sleeping bag the blond boy had rushed and wrestled to sleep next to last night. That muffled scream belonged to Linda.

* * *

Mike was the most frantic, Darren following in a close second. Ron and Hermione looked to Harry as if to ask _'what do we do?'_

Harry immediately thought of Calder. Could it be possible that the ex-witch hunter betrayed him? The safety he had felt from him keeping watch had now turned into fear and guilt of his reckless, trusting behavior.

Harry still never got a chance to tell Ron and Hermione about his conversation last night. Now to tell them that their friend might be in trouble because of his unconsulted decision would prove too much for him to do.

She wasn't hurt. She was fine. She had to be.  
This was Linda he was thinking about after all. Strong, smart, resourceful Linda.

"Don't worry," Hermione said, attempting to calm Mike.

The blond teen struggled to untangle himself from his sleeping bag. The task was an easy one, but his rash movements only made it harder.

"She probably just had to pee and got camp-pranked along the way."

Hermione sounded convincing enough to ease Mike's worries a bit.  
Harry guessed he was thinking something along the lines of '_She's right…we're at camp after all. Still… the scream was alarming.'_

Harry frowned. He felt as nervous as Mike had looked. Years of anxiety triggering situations allowed him to mask it better. But he, unlike Mike, knew about the witch hunters and death eaters after his skin. The muggles probably thought the worst case scenario was her being attacked by a wild animal.

Still, Harry played it cool. There was no use in worrying the muggles just yet. "Hermione is right. Though, if you're still worried we can look for her.  
"Ron, Hermione and I will search the woods. The three of us can cover more ground." Harry told them. "You and Darren can search the trails. Linda will probably meet us back here by the time we give up searching."

He made sure to laugh at the end of the sentence to draw any last traces of worry away from the two.

"Whoever pranked her is getting a fistful of revenge!" Mike said.

Darren nodded fiercely. All throughout the last five minutes he hadn't said much, just looked scared. The young artist had never been a boy of many words. It was hard for Harry to know what he was thinking most of the time. Somehow his worriment remained more visible than Mike's at last glance before they took off.

The wizards were on Harry only about a minute after Mike and Darren left, shooting questions at him like bullets.

"Where are we going?!"

"Do you think it was the witch hunters!?"

"You don't believe anything you told them, do you?"

They ran towards the wood while they asked. Harry wanted badly to dodge their questions. The ones he knew the answer to were unhelpful. The ones he could only guess…he dreaded the answer.

In between pants and painful trekking through the twisting forest, Harry somehow managed to tell them about Calder before they arrived to meet him. If the witch hunters had anything to do with this, then Calder would know.

Harry would find him there with the witch hunter in handcuffs and Linda safe and sound. That image was the only thing that kept him running even when his lungs and legs began to feel like flames.  
Ron and Hermione didn't take the news of Harry trusting Calder too well, but they acknowledged that now wasn't the time to start a fight.

Partially, Harry was correct. They did find Calder. On the ground. Bleeding. No Linda in sight.

Calder only groaned at their arrival, his head barely lifting to see who'd arrived.

"Calder!"

"_shhhhh... _Keep yer voice down boy, and ready that wand." Calder picked himself up into a sitting position, wincing. "They could be back at any moment."

Harry heard the '_they',_ but skipped the stupid '_who' _question. There was no need to ask who had done this. Instead he asked "Which way did they go?"

"The car park," Calder said.

"Hermione, stay behind with Calder," Harry said. If anyone of these teens knew how to heal fatal wounds with only five years of magical training, it was her.

Not wasting any time to say anything more, Harry ran.

His hands tingled with fear, anxiety, and adrenaline. Nothing seemed real. It was one of those 'I can't believe this is happening moments'. It was hard to feel anything except numb emotions. Harry knew his body would've given out ages ago, but the adrenaline didn't allow him to feel any pain. Yet.

He had done a good job of keeping these emotions contained in the presence of Mike and Darren. Now, alone with the situation, his body forced him to feel them. Trees whooshed past him, and voices whose words he couldn't or wouldn't make out came into focus when he reached the car park.

Ron had ran alongside him all the way here. Even though his best friend was here to help, Harry still felt alone in the situation.

They stumbled onto the concrete to find that unlike yesterday morning, many more cars were parked here.

Today was the last day at camp. More teens and families had arrived for the final festival showdown. Assuming they hadn't already taken Linda, it would be a nearly impossible task finding the right car.

Harry and Ron split up, running through the crowded mess of cars and people. How long they searched, Harry didn't know. The only thing he remembered seeing before dropping to the ground in front of the crowed were several muddy footprints on the cold concrete, similar to theirs, but the shoe size much bigger.

Slight hope flared up inside him. He followed them, ready for a showdown. He didn't care about using his magic in public at that moment. He could take down the witch hunters and carry Linda back to the relieved faces of Mike and Darren. Darren would hug Linda, thank Harry and go back to his sketch pad. Mike would smirk, say he hadn't been worried in the slightest, and sigh in relief when no one else was looking.

The trail ended. There was no car, no Witch hunters, and (once again) no Linda.  
Only one clue was left on that heart breaking trail; tire tracks of a speeding car.

* * *

Harry stumbled forward to the center of the car park to search for Ron in the crowd. To tell him it was useless to keep searching. To tell him…

His knees wobbled and his throat burned. The adrenaline drained from his system. Harry sunk to his knees and clutched his head. Unsure if was doing it out of physical pain or frustration, the young wizard remained in that pathetic position.

What would he tell them? What _could _he tell them? The thought of even having to come up with an explanation made his stomach churn. It was sickening.

Mumbles were heard around him. Harry didn't look up, but he guessed the crowed must've stopped at his pitiful sight. Harry must've looked pretty strange. A teenage boy in dirty, sweaty clothing in a fetal position, sitting on the freezing ground. Yes, quite unsettling.

"_Do you think he's hurt?"_

"_Should we call an ambulance?"_

"_I bet he's on drugs."_

"_Don't get too close, Jessie."_

"_Maybe we should just call the police."_

"_Isn't he that an exchange student?"_

Footsteps echoed closer to him and a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder.

"Hey, are you alright, mate?"

Harry lifted his head, realizing that was all he could do. His legs both burned and ached, as did his lungs.  
A tall, dark-skinned teen around his age stared down at him with concern. Harry had seen him before in the halls, but they shared no classes together.

"I'm fine, just…tired," Harry said. The boy looked at him with skepticism. "I overdid my jog," Harry explained.

The muggle didn't look convinced. "Can you stand up?"

"…no."

"Guys! Help me out here!"

In no time Harry was being lifted to his feet by a gang of teenage muggles. They did all of the work. Harry would need a couple more minutes before he was ready to walk. Right now he was lucky he didn't faint.

The other bystanders only stood there, curiously eyeing Harry.

"Move along!" one of the four teens yelled.

Any other time, Harry would've been grateful, and insisted that he needed no help. This time, he just let the strangers do their thing while in his mind, the world crashed down around him.

"Harry? Harry!" Ron came running towards the group. Most of the crowed had scattered, leaving only the Walker High students.

"This your friend?" The dark-skinned boy asked Ron.

Ron nodded, looking at Harry who mouthed the words 'she's gone'.

The young wizard could now stand without the help of the other boys.

"I'm okay now, thanks," Harry said in a monotone voice. "Ron can take it from here."

Hesitantly, the muggles let go of Harry's arms.

The group looked at each other. "Well, be careful," one of them said.

They walked off. Harry stood in the car park with Ron in silence, waiting.  
Waiting for what, he did not know. Maybe he waited for another clue, for his legs to feel better. Deep down inside them they both knew he waited for an explanation to fall from the sky. An explanation of what to say to Mike and Darren.

* * *

The shaking of his legs had mostly diminished, but they still ached with every step. Harry still wasn't thinking straight, and was unable to come up with a decent explanation that would satisfy them enough so that they wouldn't involve muggle authorities.

'luckily' for him that explanation would with many more aspects than a simple 'where is Linda' as he was about to find out.  
Like most people in this situation, the guilt in inevitable and consuming. Harry was no different from the rest. He didn't want that heart wrenching pain on his shoulders. Doing what most individuals would do, he passed it on to the unfortunate man.

"You!" Harry spat, pointing his wand down at Calder. "This is all your fault! You said you would protect us! That was your job!"

Calder was now completely patched up thanks to the brilliant witch. He'd suffered two gunshots wounds. One to the knee and another to the shoulder. The witch hunter who'd shot him also happened to be the one who'd been carrying Linda. Running while carrying a teenage girl makes it almost impossible to make a fatal blow.

"Harry, calm down." Hermione coaxed him, stepping closer to him. "Don't do anything you'll regret."

Harry laughed humorlessly. "Too late for that. Look what happened, Hermione!"

"Put the wand down before I taser ye!"

Harry looked at Calder incredulously without lowering his wand.

Calder did indeed pull out a taser. Just like the man didn't hesitate to advance towards Harry, the young wizard didn't hesitate to hex him just as he'd done on the day they met.

'"_Stupefy!" _

A flash of blinding blue light and Calder was on the ground.

He expected the annoyed look of Hermione, and Ron's amused one. He also expected the loud thud of the man's body hitting the ground.

What he hadn't foreseen was the loud gasp behind him.

Harry's breath caught his throat, as did Ron and Hermione's.

He turned. For a second he thought the young wizard had imagined the noise. Then, he saw it.

Two heads sticking out from above a bush. One blond, the other brown hair.

Darren's hand was over Mike's mouth. The blond teen's eyes bulged in fear.

* * *

**A/N: **

**I'm not sorry for the cliffhanger. Well, I will be if my lovely readers review, urging me to update faster? Maybe? Please? XD  
Yikes. What will happen now that they saw Harry preform magic? ...gonna need some reviews to answer that question... (shhh, I love you guys).**

**Review = faster updates (don't kill me).  
**

**Replies :  
LaurenL0429 : Yes, Yes they do :) Thank you for the review! Hope you like this chapter!**

**Maniaca muajaja: Laura (friend from school with my same name, NOT me) I know that's you. Te amo pedazo de loca ;)**

**Hope all of you had a lovely new years. Happy 2016!...ugh...school starts tomorrow. I hate you high school. I really flippin do.**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: I AM SO SORRY. It's been a month since I updated. I'm a horrible human being. Please don't murder me...**

**On the bright side, this chapter reached 5.1k words :)  
So far, the longest chapter in this soon to be ending story. I sort of want it to end so I can have 1 completed novel-sized work on here...but I also don't.  
Regardless, I hope all of you enjoy this chapter. I worked pretty hard on it since some events that occur in it have been in my head since the beginning of the fic. I love you all, and thank you for your reviews. I can't express how happy they make me since writing is my life!**

**Enjoy!**

**P.S: This chapter is not beta edited yet, but I did my best. I iz perdy sure it has no grammar mistakes. This note will be removed once it is. **

* * *

**Chapter 23**

A house of cards is a very fragile thing. The symbolic blood, sweat, and tears it takes to build such a structure is only the more devastation when it falls.  
That's what those few moments felt like to Harry. A shattering feeling when in an instant all his hard work was on the floor. Every lie he'd told. Every second he spent hiding behind fake smiles and words of reassurance that they could trust him. Wasted.

The young wizard was only speechless for mere seconds. Instincts kicked in like a blow to the chest. There was no way he could allow the house of cards to fall. Not like that. It had been too easy—too simple. He couldn't accept that fate just yet.

If only he could've stopped time to gather his thoughts, but sadly, time was a thing Harry did not possess. He hastily stepped closer to both boys. Darren took a cautious step back while Mike was still frozen on the spot. The only words that escaped Harry's mouth were a series of unintelligible phrases with the occasional '_Mike_', '_Darren_', or the well thought out '_I can explain'._

Once Harry got to a close enough of to them, he dropped his wand and put his hands up in the air in the _'I come in peace'_ gesture.  
From the way they were looking at him, he might as well have been the alien from that movie 'E.T' the three muggles had shown him.

Fear was expected in this situation. What wasn't was Mike advancing on him at lighting speed with glazed, unfocused eyes. Harry didn't know if he should be more concerned of the attack or how pale Mike's face was. At this stage the blond boy was either on the verge of fainting or throwing up on Harry.

Mike grabbed Harry by the shoulders both shakily and harshly. Even with the evident disbelief and fright written in his stare, he didn't hesitate to attack. If Mike wanted to fight him, Harry wasn't about to fight back. It would only leave more cracks on the already broken situation. Harry felt his back scrape bark as he was pinned to tree. He winced, but didn't struggle.

In all the commotion between the two—as always—Harry's friends came to his rescue. The young wizard had abandoned his wand but his friends had not. While Harry chose to act recklessly once again—not taking into account Mike's physique and visible insanity—his friends weren't about to let Harry take a possibly fatal beating in front of their eyes. Screw the circumstances.

Mike's face was close enough for Harry to feel his hot, ragged breath. His eyes were wild and afraid, but also determined.

"_Where is Linda_?"

Harry had been expecting a punch to the face. This question took him aback. In these short moments he had forgotten about Linda's kidnapping.  
After finding out your friends are wizards, a being you had never before believed existed, this was not how he expected Mike to react.

"Mike!" Darren called.

Mike turned to see where Darren was pointing. For the first time he noticed the two people who he'd shared his sacred campground with pointing wands at him. His grip on Harry released. Staggering backwards, he grabbed Darren's hand and stood in front of him, both backing away.

Darren's head was visible from behind Mike's shoulder. Unlike Mike he didn't seem afraid. Darren shot Harry a strange look of confusion and sadness.

Mike's glare burned into Hermione and Ron. Hermione looked away, holding back tears. Even then, Ron looked the most pained. Mike had probably been the second closest friend the teen had ever had. The two had spent hours working on soccer training together only to later eating ridiculous amounts of food. It was a strange bond Harry had never shared with the enraged blond.

That didn't stop Mike from yelling "Disgusting Freaks!" before running off. He pulled Darren behind him.

The leaves rustled behind the two muggles. The sound reminded Harry of a falling house of cards. Everything had fallen.

Harry and his friends decided to leave the camp early. From the missing sleeping bags and backpacks, he assumed Mike and Darren did too.  
Other than the school, there was nowhere else to go.

Walker High was a lot less welcoming than before in Harry's mind. Even though no one else had found out their identity, being there felt wrong. He had no right to be there after Linda's disappearance, none at all.

Harry texted Amber and told her he felt sick and not to worry. _Not to worry. _That was about all he could do to make it up to everyone; have them not worry.  
Amber was officially the first muggle D.A member, but just like her, he didn't want to tell anyone else about Linda's disappearance just yet.

It was just about the worst decision to make at the moment, but Harry had to be sure that he couldn't rescue her on his own before getting others involved. Partially for their safety, but mostly for his sanity.

No one else was allowed to get hurt but him now, not on his watch.  
Well…almost no one.

Ron and Hermione were completely against the idea of not telling the D.A.

"Not trying to make you any angrier, Harry, but I don't think you're in the right mind state to rescue anyone. _Alone _of all things_._" Hermione had said.

Ron simply scowled. For now they weren't really on speaking terms since Harry's impulsive actions had cost him his friendship with Mike.

Harry tried apologizing a few hundred times. From Ron's resigned sigh he knew it would blow over eventually.

After about half an hour of arguing and wrestling for the phone with Hermione—lots of biting and scratching involved in the process—she agreed. However, there were a few conditions.

He had 24 hours to find out where she was and rescue Linda with Ron and her following closely behind. If he failed, the D.A would take over.

Lucky for Harry, he did have a plan in mind. Calder had given him a map to Mr. Short's location. Harry was willing to bet that was the same place Linda was. After sharing this information with Ron and Hermione, he told them to get ready. They were leaving ASAP.

But first, there was something Harry had to do.

As stated before, _almost _no one would get hurt now. Cole was an exception.

After searching around the school, Harry finally found him. The witch hunter was exiting the boys' bathroom when he ran into Harry's fist.

Cole fell to the ground only to be lifted by his shirt collar and pinned against the brick wall.

Barely coming to his senses, he looked at Harry with a startled "What the bloody hell is your problem!?" Cole managed.

"What's my problem? _My _problem?!" Harry spat. "I'm not the one going around kidnapping the innocent!"

His eyes went wide. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Potter."

Harry gritted his teeth. "Don't play dumb with me! You and I both know what you are. Just as you know what I am." He said darkly.

The young wizard was surprised to see Cole look slightly ashamed. He struggled to free himself from Harry's grip, kicking and punching to no avail. Even though most students were away at camp, Harry had managed to draw in a crowd.

"What do you want?" Cole asked. He finally stopped struggling.

"Answer this," Harry said. "Who is Agnes?"

Cole was a short, baby-faced teen. Other than his association with witch hunters, nothing about him had ever quite been physically threatening. Not until now. As soon as Harry mentioned the name 'Agnes', something snapped inside of Cole.  
His light, cloudy sky eyes changed along with his frightened expression. The anger inside looked as though a shadow had crossed the irises. The daytime sky in them now resembled stormy weather.

The young teen knew he crossed some sort of invisible line.

With strength Harry didn't know Cole had, the muggle lifted his body up and kicked Harry—_hard_—in the abdomen.

Harry fell backwards, releasing his hold on Cole. All the wind was knocked out of him. Had he had breakfast that morning, it would've left him too. Harry clutched his stomach, unsure of what the hell just happened.

Cole didn't waste time and began kicking Harry while he was down. Again, Harry resorted to grabbing his shirt and pulled Cole down to the ground with him.  
The fight was a messy and confusing fight—biting, more kicking, punches, childish hair pulling, you name it. Sadly, it was abruptly cut short when the headmistress finally arrived.

"What on earth is going on here?" Said a stern voice.

Harry had been at walker high for weeks, and had only ever had slight glances of the headmistress and founder of the school when passing her in the hall.  
She was a pretty, thin, middle aged woman with shoulder length chocolate colored hair. Judging by her physical features, she had a kind-like appearance, sort of like a cookie baking mother. Harry was reminded of Mrs. Weasley.

Though, Harry was willing to bet that she wasn't about to treat them too kindly at the moment.

Needless to say, not the best first impression.

Not that it stopped Harry and Cole from continuing at their fun.

"Mr. Quinn, stop this at once!" the headmistress ordered, unaware of Harry's name.

But Cole and Harry continued on. If one wouldn't stop, the other wouldn't either. There was no way Harry was letting that dwarf get the last punch. The feeling was mutual.

Harry's wish was granted when Cole's abruptly ceased to attack him after headmaster spoke again. "Cole, don't make me call your parents!"

After one last satisfying punch to the gut of the witch hunter, Harry stopped as well. Had it been Dumbledore, Harry would've obeyed immediately. It's not like this headmaster had much to threaten him with anyway. The young wizard had no parents he could call, or much of a reason to want to be at this school anymore.

Part of him wanted to get another punch, this time at Cole's face. However, he decided to listen to the authoritative figure in front of him. Mostly because he felt sorry for her. It must be hard to break up student fights without magic.

"Up! Both of you!"

The laughing and whispering muggle crowd around them reminded Harry of when he used to get in fights with Dudley at his old school.

With no Dursleys to assure he was the only one to be punished, Harry didn't terribly mind walking with Cole to the headmistress's office.

"Oh honestly," she complained. "You get fired from the newspaper club, begin to constantly skip your classes, and now this?  
What on earth has gotten into you Mr. Quinn?"

Cole didn't answer, his gaze fixed on the ground, ashamed.  
Harry sniggered.

"And _you,_" she began.  
Cole looked up, a smile creeping on his face.

"Don't think that just because you're an exchange student that spares you any trouble. If anything, it _increases _it. This is absolutely no way to behave at my school."

They reached her office. Harry took a deep breath and braced himself. So far, he didn't dislike the Headmistress, but if his judgement was right, and she was anything like Mrs. Weasley….well…no one likes an angry Mrs. Weasley.

If a muggle headmaster's office could ever resemble at all the one of Albus Dumbledore, this was it.

A vast aqua blue room surrounded by two towering bookshelves on opposite sides. Sparkling snow globes and various ornaments on shelves were enough for this to be a small gift shop. Portraits of famous figures were also part of this strange array of things. These—of course—were motionless, and a bit dull.

A couple jars with mysterious substances were splayed out randomly in different areas. It was both orderly and a complete mess.

Cole didn't give anything a second glance and sat down almost automatically. Harry wondered how much academic trouble witch hunting caused Cole that the Headmistress' office would become a routine.

Harry sat on the identical bright blue cushioned chair next to Cole. He noticed the silver name plate on her desk.

'_Eva L. Gray. Headmistress.' _

He couldn't believe that after all this time he had never learned her name. Not that it mattered when the scolding began.

She grumbled something about endless detention while sorting through some files in her desk cabinet.

"Ah, here we are. Exchange student records," she said. "Your name?"

"Harry Potter."

After a minute of searching through them, she looked up with a puzzled look on her face. "How odd," Eva said. "Albus had mentioned that most exchange students lived on the country side…  
"But to have not telephone number to call? How mad!"

Cole gave Harry a side glance, not looking at all surprised with the headmistress' discovery.

Most wizarding families didn't own a phone. The lacking numbers of muggleborns at school didn't leave much contact options on the files.

"I suppose we could mail your parents. That's all the others give me the chance to do anyway."

She pulled out Harry's file. It was empty.

Cole must've stolen that too.

To answer Eva's unasked question he said "I have no parents," Harry told her, attempting to look embarrassed. "My aunt and uncle refused to give the school their contact information."

Harry received a strange look from Cole. No, Harry was not covering for him. The stressed boy simply didn't need this woman to spend hours finding a way to retrieve files that were now at the hands of far off witch hunters.

The faster he got out of here to save Linda, the better.

A sympathetic look crossed her face. Bingo.

"Alright, but maybe I should still inform Albus? It's your first strike. I suppose no such events will take place in the future?"

"None at all." Harry assured her.

"You on the other hand, Cole, have been causing quite a lot of trouble lately."

"Please don't call my father." Cole pleaded.

She sighed exasperatedly. "I suppose I could make this your last chance.

She stared at both of them and said. "Detention for a week."

Fair enough, Harry thought.

Cole's shoulder's relaxed. Just when they thought they had escaped any further punishment, she asked "What exactly brought on this fight between the two of you?"

Neither had a prepared answer to that question. Both boys looked at each other.

"I have no idea professor," Cole was quick to answer. "I was just walking out of the loo when this lunatic attacked me."

'_Oh I am NOT playing along to that story…even if it was partially true.'_

"Is this true, Harry?"

Harry glared at Cole. "Absolutely not. I had a reason. This deranged dwarf has been bullying me and my friends since we got to this school."

_Bullying. _A very light term for attempted murder.

"You'd know a lot about dwarfs, wouldn't you, Potter?" Cole shot back.

"Just who do yo—

"_ENOUGH_!"

Silence followed. The tension filled air was an obvious clue that they'd crossed the line. However, what she said next was far worse than Harry expected.

"Go back to your dorms. We'll finish this discussion tomorrow."

Yes, it indeed sounded as if this woman had let them off the hook. But Harry knew better. He had seen that look before after a fight. Lots of experience with aunt Petunia allowed him to acknowledge what would come next.  
No, this was beyond not over. While Cole and he were away, she would plot the perfect punishment to make them reflect on their actions. They didn't just cross the line; they had stumbled miles beyond it.

Cole's expression was seemingly oblivious to this. At least Harry had his opponent's suffering to look forward to.

Harry was about to turn the corner and finally depart from the company of Cole when he felt a hesitant tap on his shoulder. He turned to find Cole's staring at the ground, a paper in hand. He gave it to Harry.

"I'm supposed to give you this." Cole said drily.

Harry took it, knowing this was probably no birthday party invitation.

'**We have her. Log cabin at Lake Shore Terrance. Come alone.'**

Cole was already walking away by the time Harry finished reading.

"Cole?" Harry said. The witch hunter didn't turn to face him.

"What?"

"You hurt her, you die."

Near the entrance to the boys' dorms, Andrew stopped Harry in the hallway.

"Here's Ron's new room key." Andrew told him. His usual bored expression didn't falter at Harry's horrified one. "A letter was delivered to the Deputy Headmaster saying a change was requested. You'll be rooming with Darren and Ron with Mike 207. I would've given them to him myself, but I sort of have a Halloween ball to plan."

"I think there's been a mistake," Harry tried.

There wasn't. He cursed himself for telling Amber to make those arrangements. Given the circumstances now, this was not the best moment to be roomies with the muggles.

"Any complaints can be taken up to the office." Andrew obviously couldn't be bothered to continue this conversation.

"Emily is looking for Linda to tell her she'll be rooming with Hermione. Any idea where she is?"

Harry hesitated, and then spoke. "Camp. I'll tell her myself, thanks."

Andrew shrugged and gave Harry the key to his tomb.

He shoved the key in his pocket, not wanting to think about the night to come. For now, his mind had to be one hundred percent focused on rescuing Mr. Short and praying that Linda was there as well.

Hermione and Ron stood at the dorm room entrance with grim expectations.

Nothing Harry could do or say would convince them not to come. The throbbing nerves he felt right now only increased at this friends being there. It was a trap, and they all knew it.

Ever since coming here he never felt so lost as to what do in this whole witch hunter predicament. Already having failed at keeping his secret, all that was left to do was try to rescue Linda before anyone else got hurt.

Maybe if he succeeded, he could take a bus back to the Dursley's until this rotten trip was over. Yes, it had come to _that._

Ron opened the door to he and Harry's old room. Now it was Harry and Darren's. Lucky for all of them, it was empty.

Harry opened the closet and pulled out the backpack Dean and Seamus had given them—not that there was much hope that some knockout gas would fair too well against the impending threat—and the two broomsticks from trunk.

Hermione wrinkled her nose in disapproval but kept quiet. It was their only ride after all.

"Alright, you ready?" Harry asked them.

"As we'll ever be," Ron answered.

"If you die, I going to kill you," Hermione told Harry, eying him worriedly.

"I'll be fine Mione," Harry squeezed her shoulder and smiled, assuring her. "Now, let's go kick some witch hunter butt!"

Hermione was about to reply when the sound of the doorknob being turned was heard.

Darren burst into the room, panting. His eyes were frantic, but evidently relieved to see the three wizards.

Not that there was much point in hiding the brooms, Harry attempted to do so regardless.

Hardly sparing the magical flying object a second glance, Darren spoke rapidly.

"Mike's gone."

There was a clatter. Harry dropped the broom. "What?!" He half shouted, knowing he couldn't take another kidnapping.

"He ran away. I need your help to get him back here. It's not safe out there, is it? I would go, but he won't listen to me."

"Wait, what?" Besides the fact that Darren wasn't scared or furious at the three wizards, why in the bloody hell did he think Mike would listen to _him._

"I'm the one he's mad at." Darren said.

Harry stopped, not really knowing what to say. Maybe it was a trap. Darren would get Harry to go to Mike where a beating would await him. Were the muggles really capable of turning on them that quickly?

Ron, Hermione, and Harry shared glances, wondering the same thing.

"Why would he be mad at you?" Ron asked doubtfully.

Darren hadn't fully entered the room. Even though he didn't appear afraid, his actions said otherwise.

He looked at the ground. "Because I knew. I knew and I didn't tell him.  
"That day in the ally after the movie…I wasn't completely unconscious." Darren confessed.

Harry's eyes widened, knowing where this was going.

"At first I thought I must've imagined the whole magic thing. After all, I did faint seconds after watching _WICCA_ . But strange stuff began happening all the time around you guys, then there was that whole _Witches On Campus _article drama going around," Darren finished, eyeing Harry's Firebolt.

Harry's mouth hung open. _He'd known all this time? _

And Harry thought he was a good liar. Darren deserved an Oscar for his reserved knowledge. Hermione and Ron looked just as surprised.  
Harry tugged at his shirt collar nervously. What would hold anyone back from spilling the beans and getting him expelled when you felt threatened? Maybe Darren had been doubtful before, but now they were surely toast. Harry couldn't—_wouldn't_ use fear to control Darren. Goodbye Hogwarts.

"But, why didn't you tell anyone?" Hermione asked.

Darren glanced at her and looked back at Harry again. "Because you saved me. I don't know what exactly happened in the ally, but I know we were in danger," he explained. Just when Harry began to feel hopeful that Darren would keep their secret, the boy continued.

"I didn't think you could be anything like the witches in _WICCA _after that…but now, I'm not so sure."

All three flinched at that last comment. If Darren noticed, he didn't show it.  
"We're nothing like them, Darren." Harry said gently, stepping closer. "Please," he added. "You have to believe me."

Darren bit his lip. "Where is Linda?"

"It's a long story, but we didn't take her. Witch hunters did. We were just about to go rescue her." Harry was now inches from Darren's face.

"Witch hunters? That doesn't even-

"We could sit here and explain now, or we could go get Mike and rescue Linda and do the talking later," Harry said.

Darren looked at each of them, still slightly unconvinced.

"If we wanted to hurt any of you, don't you think we would've done it already?"

Darren smiled tiredly. "I'm not sure. Maybe you're telling the truth…maybe you're not. I was never the smart one in the group. Linda was—_is. _All I know is that you three are the only way I have left to get her back.  
"And since you saved me," Darren continued. "I guess I can trust you…for now."

"We'll get her back," Hermione promised, hugging the life out of Darren.

Darren smiled and hesitantly hugged back.

"When she gets back, all of you have some explaining to do."

Harry sighed; glad one of his muggle friends still sort of trusted him.

"C'mon, let's go get Mike," Harry said, squeezing Darren's shoulder.

The muggle's eyes widened. "You mean I get to ride on…?"

"Yup," Harry told him, mounting the broom and signaling for Darren to get on.

Any other conflicts they had had before were forgotten with Darren's excited chatter as he mounted the broom.

Hermione got on Ron's broom and took off ahead of Harry.

"Darren?"

"Yeah?"

"If Amber asks, she was the first to fly with me."

With that, they took off into the darkening sky.

The excitement had left Darren when his gaze met the ground. It was replaced by muffled screams as he gripped onto Harry for dear life, his face mushed to the back of the wizard's sweater.

Gradually, he lifted his face and—to Harry's relief—loosened his grip.

Even though the Firebolt's lighting speed was out of question for compare with Ron's broom, Harry and Darren were slightly behind.

Out of fear of giving Darren a heart attack, Harry had slowed down. He increased the speed now that the muggle had gotten over the initial shock factor. Soon enough Darren was shouting gleefully.  
"You alright, mate?" Ron asked Darren once Harry caught up.

"Well, this is usually the part where I wake up."

The wizards laughed.  
"Where should we look for Mike first?" Harry asked.

"Oh, I know where he is," Darren said. "It's not too far a…_flying _distance, but it would be about a two hour walk. Just keep going straight.

"Do you mind if I take us full speed?"

Darren grinned wildly. "Do it!"

Harry had never seen someone have so much visible fun flying. He realized just how much he had begun to take this magical privilege for granted. Allowing his face to feel the full blast of the wind and savor the glistening stars coming into view, shinning brighter as the world grew darker, Harry felt part of the stress leave his body.

It felt like a blissful intake of nature's aroma. The release reality with the magical surge of speed. At that moment he felt like a sponge, absorbing Darren's first-time-thrill.

The landing felt too sudden. Problems of reality were once again. The ground was fire. When he touched it, the pain and troubles would return.  
And so it was.

Darren pointed to a spot down below. "Down there,"

Harry hadn't even noticed when the city had become forest. He had been flying over what appeared to be an endless spam of woods.

The four descended, landing on a familiar clearing.

"Your camping spot?" Harry questioned.

He sighed sadly, unmounting the broom.

"No, not here. A bit further by the lake. But one of you should go and the rest stay back. We don't want Mike to feel threatened."

Yes, Harry certainly didn't want that.

"Alright," Harry said, and began walking forward. "Show the way."

Darren grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back.  
Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, I think Ron should go," Darren said carefully. "I mean...other than the fact that Mike saw you _spell _that man, I think he trusts him more."

Harry blushed as he was reminded of the incident. His temper was not a trait The Boy Who lived was proud of.

Harry looked at Ron who nodded. If things were to get physical, Ron could probably keep Mike at bay better than Harry could before the rest of them jumped to defense. "You're right."

Darren walked forward and the rest followed. They crossed straight ahead to the other side of the clearing, plunging into even darker forest.

They only walked for about a quarter mile before Darren stopped them. Gaps of moonlight shone brighter between the trees, letting Harry know they were near another open space. A strange shimmer was seen just a couple meters ahead, but Harry couldn't make out its source through the thick bushes.

"We stop here," Darren whispered. Mike must've been closer than Harry thought. "Ron, you keep walking forward. We'll be watching you from the bushes incase things get…well, good, luck." Darren smiled.

Ron smiled back nervously. He stepped forward, unready to face his former friend.

Once Ron disappeared from view into the clearing, Darren walked quietly forward and crouched behind the thickest bush.

Harry and Hermione did the same, barely just peering over the top.

When his eyes adjusted to the newfound brightness, Harry's mind sorted out the details.

The shimmering came into view. Acers and more acers of magnificent sparking water under the stars, only a few meters from where they hid. Mike had mentioned the word lake a couple times in the conversation, only to leave the gang in suspense. This must've been another surprise he had planned for them before things got…complicated.

Just as Harry had predicted, he was close. Mike's back was to Ron, sitting on the edge, his head on his knees.

"How'd you know he would be here?" Harry whispered.

"Mike always comes here when he skips class or runs away."

The redhead cautiously approached him. The footsteps were soft, but still audible. Harry was surprised to notice that Mike still hadn't heard them.

Ron stopped walking after determining a safe enough distance between the two.

"Mike?" Ron whispered.

Mike jumped at the sound of his voice and flipped over, facing him.

His eyes looked wet and wild. He wiped them, and stood up defensively.

"I came to talk," Ron said gently. His voice echoed with the softness of a bedtime story, but Mike didn't ease at the sound.

"Get out." Mike said, his voice raspy.

"Just hear me out, please."

"GET OUT!"

Ron stepped back. Mike was radiating pain—fear, confusion, and sadness turned to anger. What had probably before been heartbreaking sniffles had morphed into growling hiccups at Ron's arrival.

"Mike, just please get back to school. It's not safe out here." Ron pleaded.

Mike looked taken aback by Ron's concern. The doubt only lasted a second before his previous composure returned.

"_Safe?" _ He smiled sarcastically. The quiver in his voice made it appear more like a grimace. "How much more dangerous could it be, Ron. After all, the monster is standing right in front of me."

_Ouch._ Harry thought.

Ron flinched. He hesitated for a moment before stepping closer.  
"I'm not a monster, mate," Ron assured. "I would never hurt you. The witch stories you believe aren't true."

Instinctively, Mike stepped back. "Save the bullshit for Darren."

"I-

"That's what you did to Linda, isn't it? Filled her head with lies so you could get to her."

"Mike-

"I bet it's what you're doing to Darren too. Newsflash! You won't get him too. I won't let you."

"That's-

"You're cold, heartless, and inhuman. I should've left you three losers friendless when I had the chance." Mike growled.

Ron quieted. As did the breathing of the three teens behind the bushes. Maybe it was Harry's imagination, but he felt the forest around him grow silent too. The hurtful words of Mike penetrated the air around them.

Tears were streaming down Hermione's face. Harry pulled her closer, watching as Ron's hands balled into fists.

The pleading stopped. Mike had won. "I'll get Linda back." Ron said, walking backwards.

Mike looked away, only just showing traces of grief. Harry saw the same expression on Mike that he himself had worn all of fourth year. This new grief was not due only to Linda's disappearance, but also Mike's lost friendship.

"I'll prove we're not the monsters."

He turned; still close enough for Mike to hear his parting statement without facing him. "Muggles are."

* * *

**A/N: Who do you guys think are the real monsters? Muggles or Wizards? Voldemort and his death eaters V.S and the witch hunters?**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, and now my favorite part : Review answering!**

LittleMissChatterbox2009:** Sorry it took me so long to update, and on a cliffie of all. I'm so glad you like this story! And hope you enjoyed this chapter. *virtual hug***

AriaChan29: **just did and thank you! I was having a bad day when I got this review. It got me writing when I didn't feel like it. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! **

**Well as you know: Review = faster updates (hehehe...)**

**Have a good week! **

**-Lauralydney**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

In the end, Mike left. None of the wizards moved until they knew the muggle would get back safely. Harry texted the D.A members still at camp so they would know to follow him until he was on school grounds. Darren hopped on the broom with Harry. The wizards took him back to school, whilst following Mike closely in the air.

Like one of many thorns wedged in Harry's back, Mike and Darren's safety was plucked from the bunch. Now it only left rescuing Linda, rescuing Mr. Short, surviving the process, keeping Ron and Hermione out of harm's way, and preparing for the soon to come attack on the school. No biggie.

Harry followed the map to the best of his ability. He was a wizard, not a pirate. By some chance of fate he managed to reach a clearing similar to that of the strange shapes on the paper.

They descended. The ominous tension trailed close behind them.  
Once on the ground, Harry unzipped his backpack. Given the little amount of time to think of a plan—and empty guesses as to what lurked behind the cabin doors—his strategies could be considered flawed depending on the near future circumstances.

So far all he had to rely on were his stink bombs, Calder's glasses (the whole '_someone around you is not_ _what they seem'_ was still rung loudly in his head), and his wand.

Obviously, the Witch Hunters would demand he give up his wand. Harry would need a backup.  
Fred and George's fake trick wands would do. '_Let the muggles give 'em a try,' _they had said.  
Of course, Harry never intended to pull such stupid prank, but in the end they did come in handy.

After they landed he stuffed the original wand in his usual sock, stink bombs in his pockets, and replaced his glasses with the ones Calder had given him. He had more than one good reason to believe the Witch Hunters were keeping other wizards captive.  
With the spell Hermione had taught him, Harry made the glasses adjust to his vision.

And finally, he handed Hermione his broom and invisibility cloak.

She gave him an odd look to which he responded. "They know I'm coming. Hide under it with Ron. They mustn't know you're here. _Pleaseee,"_ he stretched the word. "Leave if anything goes wrong."

Ron and Hermione looked as if they we're about to protest before they had the chance Harry pulled them both into a bone-crushing hug.  
This was a rare display of affection. The sort he'd stopped showing as often ever since the night of Cedric's death.

"Just leave, okay?" Harry pleaded.

"Leave _to get_ _help,"_ Hermione finally agreed.

Harry released them, realizing he wouldn't get much further in this argument. "Hide. I'll be back," he told them and whispered, _"probably."_

They did, and Harry moved forward, scanning his surroundings.

It was a log cabin. An old one at that. Harry would have thought it to be abandoned any other time. The wood was chipped and the rusty, mucus colored roof didn't help magnify its beauty.  
The only suspicious things about the ancient mess were the windows. Some of the glass was shattered, revealing nothing of the inside. What appeared to be metal walls hid the interior view.

A wooden fence coated with barbed wire and yellow scotch tape surrounded the cabin. _'Danger, keep out'_ was written multiple times on the tape and a few poorly nailed sings on the fence.  
_Danger, huh? Hadn't noticed._

The bleak perspective of things had one thing missing until now—his fear.

His mind had only focused on salvaging the lives of others before. Not his own.  
Looking around at the area brought a nauseating toxin to lie at the pit of Harry's stomach—panic.

The young teen tried as he could to push it down, but the ashy trees rose it to the surface again as their spiky, hand-shaped branches clawed at his insides with each step closer to the Cabin.

Steps that crunched under the gravel parkway. The sound matched that of gnashing teeth.  
_Gnashing teeth._ Red eyes appeared in the darkness with the deafening noise of savage barks.  
Even the Witch Hunter's dogs had their own threatening persona.

The light of the moon shone briefly as one of the many clouds rolled away, only to disappear moments later.  
He wondered if that was the last light he would see once he entered the place where no one could hear him scream.

* * *

Harry stood at the door for what felt like ages. Yes, he was afraid, but that wasn't the reason.  
Comically enough, it was mostly because he never 'turned himself over to the enemy'. What was one to do in that situation?  
Knocking seemed stupid, but barging in was terrifying.

Luckily, the dogs had served as an alarm. Cole opened the door. He wore a gray turtleneck shirt, thicker on the chest than on the sleeves. It gave Cole a bulked up appearance. The jet-black baggy jeans and combat boots matched the teen's hair.

The muggle was emotionless and cold as stone, his eyes scanning Harry up and down, stopping momentarily on his wand before going back to his face.

Cole smirked, but it looked more like a grimace. "Just your wand, Potter?"

Harry bit his lip. Whatever they had in store for him must be beyond the protection of fifth year magic.

"I'm only here for the exchange," he said quickly. "Where's Linda?"

Cole coked his head to the side in a wordless _follow me _motion.

When Cole turned his back, Harry noticed the gun in his right hand. A pistol which shook violently in his grip. Harry doubted it had anything to do with its weight.

Inside it smelled acidic and pungent, leaving a metallic taste on the roof oh Harry's mouth. The odor was not one he recognized, but the lemon detergent used as a failed attempt to cover it up was.

Unlike the simple hiker's cabin it appeared to be on the outside, the interior was vast, glistening with white tiled floors, and plain, windowless walls. Four large metal doors—much like the one he'd seen at Cole's house—surrounded the four walls of the apartment sized area.

Harry became suspicious of how the inside was so spacious, reminding him of the tent used in the Quidditch cup.  
_The doors must lead some place below rather than upward, _Harry thought. _If only I knew which one led to Linda…_

"Just you here?" Harry asked.

"Don't be an idiot. The others are downstairs. This place is rigged with traps, so don't try anything stupid, okay?"

Another piece of the puzzle landed on his lap. If he asked Cole enough discreet questions, Harry might just learn what he was up against, and-or what they had planned for him.

As he thought about what to ask, the young wizard couldn't help but be strangely concerned for Cole.  
This muggle was so baffling to him. Harry knew he was a witch hunter, but there were moments when that façade would break. Like a spy peering out a window trying not to be caught, you'd catch glimpses of Cole's weakness just before he covered them up again.

The way he said '_don't try anything stupid' _hadn't been the least bit threatening. A worrisome tinge lingered at the end. It was a warning, not a threat.

What he said about traps, Harry thought, had to be true. Or else there was no way they'd send Cole alone.

"They're forcing you, aren't they?"

"What?"

"To be a Witch Hunter."

Again, the debility left Cole's face, almost instantly.

"Of course not. We're not like your kind. They'd never force me to do anything," Cole spat, and then paused, rubbing his temples. "Just keep your mouth shut. You'll make things worse for yourself."

Harry ignored his command. "Why are the others downstairs?"

"_I _don't answer to you. _You _are the prisoner."

Harry sighed, resigned. Maybe there was no use in talking to him.  
After a few seconds of silence, Harry thought up another question. However before he could ask it, the train of thought was interrupted by a strange glow coming from one of the doors.

"You're keeping other wizard's captive now too?" Harry asked Cole in attempt to surprise him with his knowledge.

Cole raised an eyebrow. "You're the only freak here, Potter."

"No need to lie to me now. I'm defenseless."

"I'm not lying."

The light got closer as the steps got louder. "Then who is—?"

All four doors burst open. About twenty people surrounded Harry and Cole like cage walls under seconds.  
Cole retreated to the group and was handed a yellow mask. One's they were all wearing, covering everything but the eyes. Oxygen masks. That was never good.

The glowing was so close it was almost blinding. Too close. Swishing his head to the side, he saw it. Too bright and covered by a mask were a pair of dark brown eyes.

A hissing noise from the air shafts above was heard. The room was filled with pink smoke.  
Harry tried to fight, kicking and punching to leave the barricade they'd formed around him, but just like the room, his head became foggy. "_You're the wizard." _He pointed at the glowing figure hazily before the light turned dark.

* * *

Either the gas contained dreamless sleep potion or he was dead. Harry spent a few minutes figuring out which. Death was dark. Harry always imagined it being at the hands of Voldemort.  
Nothing made sense, only the darkness. Harry called out for his parents. Maybe in this life they'd find him.

Someone shushed him nearby. A warm hand touched his forehead, caressing his hair before another—Harry assumed was from the same person (or ghost)—shook him gently.

"Harry," a familiar voice called quietly. "Wake up."

His throat burned. Harry didn't know how long he'd been out, but water was obviously something this other world had neglected. He groaned hoarsely "You can't be dead too," Harry told the voice tiredly. "I have to get you back to Mike."

A snorted laugh and the sound of a hand clasped over a mouth confused him even more.  
"We're not dead," it whispered firmly.

Slowly, Harry's eyes began to flutter open. _Huh. So it wasn't that dark._

But the lighting in the room didn't matter, nor the smell of toxic death. The only thing that did was the person standing in front of him.

"Linda!"

"_shhhhh!"_ Linda warned, accepting his embrace.

"You're an idiot," she sighed.

Harry pulled away and smirked in amused disbelief. "This is how you're greeting your rescuer?"

"Harry," she glared impatiently. "Now you're stuck here too. Rescue? What were you thinking!" Linda began.  
The wizard bit back his tounge and let her ramble. "What kind of reckless, irresponsible joke is this? Tell me you _at least _called the police! Do you have any idea how dangerous…."

Linda's lecture was cut short in Harry's mind when he remembered the fake wand trick.  
Fred and George's wand was gone. Harry reached for his sock, exhaling when he felt his real wand still there.

"…miss school as well! If you thought this _saving my life_ mission was a good idea just wait until—"

"Linda," Harry interrupted her. "How long was I out?"

The muggle blinked quickly, snapped out of her complaint trance. It wasn't hard then for Harry to notice that she was actually scared. It showed in her quivering lips and pierced eyes, visibly holding back tears.

"A couple hours. It's around two in the morning."

This room was mostly empty. To mattresses and a few comics and books on the floor were just about all it had to show. More white walls. No windows.  
Mr. Short was asleep, his beard longer than Harry remembered. Neither he nor Linda looked starved. Still, that didn't lessen his anger at the kidnappers.

Harry grabbed her hand. "I'm getting you out of here."

The determination in his voice sparked some hope in her stare.

"How? Do you know why they took me?"

"_Ummm…_" Harry was struck with the obvious thought. "Do _you_ know why they took you?"

Linda shook her head. "At first I assumed—well, you know—human trafficking, but then I saw Mr. Short here. There was also that weird kid from school. I hear his voice in the hall. Cole was it? I think he's with them."

"You mean you don't know anything?"

"No."

"Oh good!" Harry blurted out.

"What? Wait—you do?"

_Shit. _"No," he lied.

Linda's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You know."

Harry was quite.

"I knew we couldn't trust you. If only I'd listened to my instinct. Now I got myself kidnapped."

Well, that backfired.

"It's not like that! I'm not working _with_ them. I'm working against them."

Linda raised an eyebrow, but before she could comment, Harry spoke. "They don't want you. It's me they're after. The Wi—these people—knew I would come get you if they kidnapped you. I'm really sorry I got you into this, but you have to trust me—just for now. I can get you out."

Linda was quite, possibly pondering what he said. She lowered her malice, but not her guard. "Who are they and why would they be after you?"

Harry opened his mouth to answer, but before the lie could escape his lips, voices were heard outside the door.

"No. We mustn't kill him yet."

"I believe we've waited long enough!"

"The only reason he's alive is for questioning. The wait is pointless without it."

The voice. Harry recognized it. Cole's father was postponing his murder. The second man was one Harry had no recollection of. It appeared to be just another Witch hunter in the bunch.

The man mumbled something inaudible.  
"What was that?"

"_I said _if your son had just kept his mouth shut that vile creature's blood would've been mine by now."

Harry was in awe that anyone would even speak to the chief Witch Hunter in that tone. Let alone say such things in his presence.

"Doctor, you must listen," Mr. Quinn continued. "After the questions you can harvest his organs for all I care. You'll get your payment soon enough."

_Doctor? Harvest his what now?!_

"And the other two?"

"Pick whichever you like. Or both if you'll pipe down and get back in your lab."

The doctor made an impatient clicking noise with his tongue. "Have it your way, Quinn." The words of the man grew distant along with his footsteps.

"Father?" came a soft, uncertain voice nearby.

"Cole? I told you to stay with the others."

"Yo—you said you wouldn't hurt them," Cole stammered. "The girl. My teacher. You promised!"

"Enough of this Cole! Being a part of this project takes sacrifice. I will not have my son of all people not understand this."

"But they'll be killed! They're like us! They are human!"

"Yes. But they know too much," Mr. Quinn's voice softened. For once, he actually sounded like a concerned father. Though, Harry was unsure if the tone was fake or not. "We can't risk any setbacks in our experiment if we are to ever cleanse the world of this plague. You understand that, don't you, Cole?"

"Yes, but…"

"Do as I say or I'm afraid you will not be present for Harry Potter's questioning. Retreat to the group now and relax. I assure you the creature's outburst was nothing more than an early side effect from the gas."  
Harry waited. Cole said nothing more.

"When we make sacrifices it's for the good of humanity. Your mother understood this. You should too."

Still, Cole didn't reply.

Eventually, Harry heard Cole leave. The noise was followed by a deep sigh at the door. Mr. Quinn was still standing there. "For Abby, Agnes, and the good of all of us, Cole. I will make things right."

And just like Cole, his father's footsteps also faded into silence.

* * *

Unknowingly, the wizard had temporarily saved his own life. By raising suspicion amongst the Witch Hunters themselves of purposeful infiltration from the wizarding community, Harry had stalled the inevitable. _You are the wizard. _Who had Harry pointed to?

The Witch Hunters didn't know either. When the gas filled the room, whoever stood where his hand had pointed must've scattered. Not to mention the whole masks dilemma.

A wizard amongst Witch Hunters…  
Harry wondered what the individual's intentions were. Was he (or she) secretly helping captives? Or was this some nut-job with personal, unresolved conflict with their nature? The first one, with his luck, somehow appeared unlikely.

The few moments of silence with Linda were cut short. Harry was too stunned to say much of anything, and Linda's eyes flashed with what appeared to be a million questions. All she manages was a 'what the hell is going on here.' A question to which Harry intelligently replied to with 'stuff'

As soon as he heard the door being opened, Harry transferred his wand from his sock to his sleeve.

Mr. Quinn along with some two other men dragged him out of the room. He didn't fight it. Even though he had his wand, Harry didn't want to risk using magic just yet. Not until he knew what exactly was going on here. It was very likely he may never get another chance to collect such information on his enemies.  
When the moment was right, Harry would grab Linda and Mr. Short and bust out of there. That was what he planned anyway.  
The young teen was surprised to see them take the two muggles with them as well. Linda's brave face failed her as soon as the strong pair of arms encased her in a chain-like grip.

Mr. Short who'd been asleep was now alert and making loud protests. His eyes met Harry's with recognition and concern.

They were lead back upstairs to the white room were several other gray uniformed Witch Hunters, including Cole awaited them, all unmasked. The glowing one, however, was not among them.

A wooden chair with metal chains sat in the center of the room. _Gee. I wonder who it's for. _Harry though sarcastically.

"Do have a seat, Mr. Potter," Mr. Quinn taunted.

Harry made his way to the chair, allowing the men to tie him down.

He made eye contact with Cole who quickly looked away.  
In that moment all Harry could think of was making some smart-ass comment at the spectating crowd, but with all the eyes on him, none came to mind. Harry settled for simple glaring.

"What do you want from me?"

No one answered him. Instead, the two men that held Linda and Mr. Short pushed them forward, to the center of the crowd, only a meter's distance from Harry.

"Ouch!" Linda protested as the two muggles were forced on the ground at a kneeling position. Immediately, the two men pulled out a pistol each and aimed at Linda and the professor's heads.

The blood drained from Harry's face "No!" He screamed, pulling at the chains.

Linda and Mr. Short felt the object bump against their skull. Mr. Short froze. A small gasp escaped Linda's lips before she forced her eyes closed and her body began to shake.

The trigger was never pulled.

"Don't! Please, I'll do anything!"

Mr. Quinn grinned. His eyes twinkled with delight.

"Good. Good. Not to worry, we just need you to answer a couple questions. They don't have to be at gun point if you behave."

"Yes! Okay!" the guns were removed.

Linda kept her head down. The terror of the near death experience not soon leaving her. Mr. Short looked up at Harry, his eyebrows knitting together. The man didn't know his secret. He didn't know it was Harry's fault he was here. He didn't know it was Harry's fault he might die.

The chief looked at a man next to Cole. "Now," he said.  
The young boy was pushed forward.

It was then that it struck Harry. His voice had sounded off the first time he screamed. It had not been him alone who'd protested against the murder of the two captives, but Cole too.  
Mr. Quinn was displeased.

"Before we get started, I will need your help to clarify some doubts in my son's understanding about _you.  
_"We have eyes everywhere, Mr. Potter. All need is for you to answer my few questions with a _yes_ or _no _before we get started with the real interrogation. Am I clear?"

Harry nodded fiercely, staring at the two trembling figures in front of him the whole time.

"Alright. First question. Did you or did you not trap your eleven-year-old cousin in a snake tank utilizing your magic abilities?"

His eyes switched from Mr. Quinn to Cole. Harry understood what was happening, but he didn't dare speak out against the man—monster with his loved ones at gunpoint.  
Again, his gaze switched, this time to the ground.

"Yes."

He wasn't looking, but Harry knew a smile had appeared on Mr. Quinn's face.

"Did you or did you not _blow up _your aunt utilizing your magical abilities?"

"Yes."

"Did you or did you not take seventeen-year-old Cedric Diggory to his death, then claim the prize money on accounts of the murder?"

Harry's hands balled into fists.

"Tick tock Mr. Potter."

"_no," _Harry mumbled.

"What was that?"

Harry looked up at the shaking man and the tearful girl at his feet. "Yes."

A dark laugh echoed the room. "Still don't believe me, Cole? Dangerous beasts like him shouldn't be allowed to breath. The people who associate with them are no better."

Harry heard Cole's footsteps as he walked back to the group. They were slow and uncertain, probably matching his thoughts.

"Now for the real questions. Lucky for you, it's just one.  
"Before you passed out, you pointed to one of my men, making a rather absurd claim. Enlighten us, won't you, Potter?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Harry wasn't getting any information from them today. He should've bolted when he had the chance. If only he knew how to do wandless magic so he could loosen the chains. Concentrating on what he wanted, Harry tried.

"_You're the wizard,"_ Mr. Cole explained, though, Harry already knew. But there was no way he would sell out someone who could potentially be helping him.

"I don't remember saying that."

"See, Cole? I told you it was just gas fluke," Harry heard the Doctor's voice say. Harry looked in the direction. He was a dark skinned man with cold, calculating eyes. The only hair left on his head was a dark, ashy gray, rimmed at the bottom of his head.  
For someone who specialized in heath, he wasn't in very good in shape. But, given the ominous things he planned on doing with Harry, the young teen doubted he was your average doctor anyhow.

"Now, hand him over."

Mr. Quinn nodded. "As you wish."

Instinctively, Harry pulled at the chains, only to realize the locks had been opened. The fear of the two men coming toward him had abled him to free the locks.

At once he was on his feet, wand ready.

He pointed at the armed guard behind Linda. "_Stupefy_!" One down. Just as fast, all but Cole pulled out their guns. The small muggle was too stunned to move.

The doctor shrieked. "Don't shoot the specimen!"

No one shot, not until Mr. Quinn gave the order. Adrenalin pumped from Harry's heart down to every last vein. Numb and afraid, his wand hand moved all around the room at the same speed as his shifting eyes, switching from Witch Hunter to Witch Hunter. He was completely surrounded, About twenty men and only one wand.

"Wrong move, vermin."

A loud bang echoed the room. A Quick burning pain, like a hit with an elastic band passed through Harry's thigh. It was a sure thing in his mind that he'd been shot, but the rush of the situation wouldn't permit him to feel it. Shakily, his other hand slid into his pocket, retrieving a marble-sized pink ball.

Cole immediately recognized it and plugged his nose.  
Harry threw the glass ball on the ground, shattering it. Pink smoke filled the room. Whatever it smelled like, Harry didn't want to find out. One by one, bodies fell to the ground, accompanied by violent coughing and loud gun blasts.

Within seconds, only about five were left standing. Having seen the effects of the gas on the others, the standing had been quick to act, holding in their breath. Amongst them was Mr. Quinn. His face burned with rage, gun aimed at him.

Harry grabbed Linda by the arm, yanked her, and ran. He pushed her in front of him, shielding her body with his. Mr. Short was one of the fallen, his body too heavy for Harry to carry. More bullets were shot. None hit him.  
Only a couple meters from the door. Another blast, this time to the shoulder. The foggy atmosphere hindered the aim of their enemies. Harry cried out in pain, the toxin entering his lungs, but he kept moving.

His steps were sluggish. While he couldn't yet feel the leg injury, running was out of the question. A few feet from the door had turned to a mile. Linda—along with himself—had inhaled too much gas. Like a deflating balloon, the energy of their fight began to drain.

His ears rung as the world went around him turned slow. _One foot in front of the other. One foot in front of…_

A ground shaking moment. A large vehicle busted through the wall in front of him. Debris and dust flew all around him. With the last bit of energy he possessed, Harry pushed Linda to the side. At least that's what he was sure he did. At this point the rather large truck in front of him could be easily imagined.

The last bits of light he saw were the shinning headlights before he was thrown back from impact. Then came the Darkness.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: THANKS FOR REVIEWS. It's 11. I have school tomorrow and I'm tired as hell. Just er hope you enjoy this chapt...zzzzzzzz  
****-lauralydney  
**

**P.S: only like 2 chapters left of this fic. 4 max...review please. Help me somehow get 100 reviews before then you amazing peoples.**

* * *

**Chapter 25**

When Harry woke up, his right arm was freezing. The rest of him was pretty chilly too, but the numbness throughout the limb began to spread. What he could feel of his bottom half was rather warm. A bed with covers. Harry lifted his arm to pull it under the sheets only to be stopped. Something was restraining him.  
Then a beeping noise. His eyes shot open.

_Where the hell am I? _  
He looked to the side where his arm lay hooked up to an I.V.  
_Hospital. Muggle hospital.  
_Pain exploded in his shoulder the minute he tried to sit up.

"Woah there, lad. Gonna need you to rest a bit. You've just gone through surgery."

Slowly, Harry moved his head towards where the voice was. His glasses weren't on him, so he could only make out the lab coat in a brightly lit room. It didn't sound anything like the 'doctor' back at the cabin. _The cabin. _How had he gotten out?

For now, all he could manage was a weak, "surgery?"

The doctor walked closer to Harry. "You're femur was severely fractured from a bullet wound. _A femoral shaft fracture, _if you will. We needed to get the bullet out of your thigh and you into a cast. Might not want to go near any metal detectors any time soon," the man tried joking.

"Femur?"

"Yes," the doctor sighed sadly. "I'm afraid a break of this gravity will take months to heal. I won't bother you for too long, but I'm afraid that later you will need to answer a few questions. For now just rest. You've had quite a few blood transfusions, but you still need to eat something, alright?"

Harry nodded, still wishing he could sit up. Somehow, he had to get out of here. Just one spell from a trained wizard and all the damage could be fixed. _Damage. Where was Linda?_

"Excuse me?" Harry said before the doctor could leave. "I had a friend with me. Do you know what happened to her?"

The doctor smiled at him. "Ah, yes. Which of the stubborn ones might that be? There's another girl at the hospital that came with you. Black hair, possible Korean background?"

"Linda," Harry croaked.

"She's up and about. Not a scratch on her."

"Are there others here?"

"There's the girl that drove you here. About four others showed up later. I told them they couldn't see you until you woke up," the man said unapologetically.

It was too much to take in. Too many unanswered questions and his eyelids began to feel heavy once again. "I'm Doctor Stanley by the way. Should I tell your friends to come in now? Only two at a time, I'm afraid."

Harry nodded again. Speaking hurt. His throat felt like sand paper. When was the last time he drank some water?

Stanley exited quietly, soon emerging once again, accompanied by Ron and Hermione.  
"Harry!" The two wizards rushed over.

"I'll leave you three alone for a while," Stanley said without looking at them. The man was fawning over several different papers.

When the door finally shut behind them, the real talking began.

"What the hell is on your arm? Is that—is that stuck _inside _your arm?!"

"Inside his vein, Ronald. It delivers medication into his system."

"_Vein? _You said they would heal him not kill him!"

"Yeah, well if it's pain medication it sure isn't bloody working," Harry moaned.

Hermione's eyes softened. "You did great, Harry. You got Linda out and destroyed the Witch Hunter's hide out."

Harry knew that face. There was more to the story. Right now didn't seem like the time to ask, so he didn't press it. Linda was safe. That's what mattered.

"Where are Mike and Darren?"

"In the lobby," Ron told him. "Amber is with them too."

"Amber?"

"About that," Ron laughed. "Blimey, Harry. You sure know how to pick 'em—_Ouch! _I'm just telling the truth, Mione. No need to get violent."

Harry rolled his eyes.  
"As I was saying—apparently she stole her dad's car—again—this time a real big one. Don't know what type of car. We got a call from her demanding to know where we were. We wouldn't budge until the hour was up."

"You were in there for _four hours, _Harry," Hermione interrupted, shaking her head. A dark, worrisome look crossed her face as if she were back out there again, waiting for Harry to come out.

"We finally called her back and told her to bring the D.A. Of course, we had to tell her exactly what was happening. Next thing we know, psycho girl is driving a car through the cabin front. She and the rest of the D.A got you and Linda off the ground and into the back of the van."

Harry was too weak to reply. Amazed, but weak. It got quite as the tired, stress filled eyes of his friends lay on his injuries. A blush crept up on Harry's face at the realization of how helpless he truly was at the moment.

"How are you feeling?" Hermione finally asked.

"Like hell."

"Er…you need anything, mate?"

"Water would be great."

Hermione looked around the room. In the corner was a food tray with orange slices, dry cracker, and a water bottle. She brought the tray over by his bedside.  
With one arm wrapped up from the bullet wound and the other hooked to an I.V., Harry looked sheepishly to his friends.

"Oh, right," Hermione uncapped it and put it to his lips.

Harry drank greedily, draining the entire bottle. "Don't worry about your injuries. McGonagall will be over tomorrow morning to heal them and bust us out of here. Sorry, but we had to tell her what happened after you got hurt."

"Why tomorrow?"

"Well, later on today. It's four in the morning."

Harry looked at their bloodshot eyes, feeling guilty for them worrying for him. "You guys should go and rest, I'll be fine."

Ron looked uncertainly at the beeping machines and gadgets surrounding his friend. The yawn that escaped his lips made the decision for him.

Ron placed his phone on Harry's lap. "Call if you need us, okay? We'll be in the lobby."

Harry's eyelids were already closed before they reached the door.

* * *

He dreamed about the cabin. This time, Cole was asking the questions. The young muggle kept repeating the same phrase over and over, each time scrunching up his face and cocking his head to the side as though he hadn't heard. The room was silent and empty enough for Harry's voice to echo loudly between them. Nonetheless, he was forced to repeat it.  
The only truly frightening aspect of his dream was Cole's shaking hand as he aimed the gun to Harry's head.

"Are you evil?"  
If Harry gave the wrong answer, he would die.

"No!"

"Are you evil?"

"No!"

Are you evil?"

"No!"

The bang woke him up.

* * *

Harry gasped for air like a newly surfaced swimmer, instinctively attempting to sit up. Once again, the pain of hell fire burned in his shoulder.

Crying out, he lied down once again.  
A cold hand rested on his sweaty forehead.

Amber's day-old mascara stained eyes looked down at him.  
"Should I call the Doctor?"

The covers—Harry realized—were pulled down to his ankles. Amber's presence made him overly aware of how stupid he looked in the hospital gown (not to mention his uncovered backside).

"Um...no. What time is it?"

"Nine. Hermione said your teacher would be here soon. Linda and I have to leave. Apparently they _forgot_ to mention we know your little secret."

Harry laughed, until he realized that hurt too. "How's Linda handling it?"

"Oh you know…Questioning the principles of science and all that. Oh, I brought you something."

Amber pulled out a large white paper bag. "I don't know if you've ever tasted hospital food, but fries are a lot better. You can take as an_ 'I'm sorry I almost hit you with my van'_ gift."

"Right," Harry said, remembering what Ron had said. A smile crossed his face as he pictured Amber driving through the streets with the D.A huddling in fear in the back. "I would be mad for almost getting yourself killed if you hadn't saved us. I can't believe you drove a van through the cabin. Where you dropped on your head at cheer?"

Amber shoved a fry in his mouth before he could continue the lecture.

That's how he spent the first part of the hour before McGonagall could arrive—avoiding the mesmerizing eyes of a muggle as she fed him fries and soda.  
Harry had been exceedingly thirsty since the accident. Just before McGonagall arrived, Harry discovered the bedpan was the worst experience of muggle hospitals.

* * *

The professor made his getting out of there incredibly simple. Just a couple memory erasing charms here and there, and the secrecy problem was fixed. After fixing his leg and angrily throwing his clothes and wand (luckily the doctors hadn't thrown the stick looking object away) to him, they were good to go.

He, Ron, and Hermione had detention for as long as they remained in Walker High. Telling McGonagall he'd already scored detention with the Headmistress didn't help his case.

With all that was going on Harry decided to inform McGonagall about the final battle later.

Had it been a week day, Harry was sure even Hermione would've agreed to skip class upon their return. They left for the dorms to quietly celebrate victory with a continuation of their nap.  
As Harry found out, the quiet morning was not what fate had planned for him.  
Mike, Darren, and Linda waited for him inside.

Mike sat awkwardly on his bed, staring down at his swinging feet.

Linda and Darren immediately pulled Harry inside, as if instead _they _owned the place.

Linda pulled Harry into a tight hug. "You saved me!"

"What'd I tell you? See guys? See? I knew we could trust him," Darren said.

Mike coughed loudly and Linda let go. The blond teen stood and walked up to Harry, towering about a head's length in comparison.  
However, his intimidation stature meant nothing in that moment and they all knew it. Harry had powers and Mike had wronged him and the other wizards.

The room grew silent until Mike spoke up.

"So…witches, huh?"

Harry pursed his lips, tired of the constant misconception. "_Wizards."_

More silence.

"Wizard, witch, fairy, leprechaun—whatever. I mean what can a guy expect? You three began acting all strange and secretive. Next thing I know Linda is gone and you attack a man with hell knows what."

"Mike!" Darren hissed.  
It appeared Harry should be mad, but he just couldn't be. He had been in Mike's shoes when meeting Sirius. The only father figure he had was a man the young teen once suspected to be a serial killer. Under Mike's circumstances, Harry wouldn't have acted any differently.

"What I mean is that I'm—" Mike coughed loudly. "I was wrong. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, really. But it's not me you need to apologize to."

"He can apologize to Ron later," Darren cut in. "Show us some magic first!"

"huh?"  
Harry shook his head, dazed.

"It's not every day you find out your friends are witches. _Please! _Just a few spells and stuff."

The three muggles looked at him eagerly.  
"_Wizards_, and I'm not sure that's a good idea. It's not even legal for you to know about this, let alone have me put on a magic show like some trained circus magician."

"Five pounds says you can't levitate the bed."

"Darren—

"Or give Darren a mustache."

"That's no—

"Or turn that lamp into a potato."

"I give up."

"We'll shut up if you do it," Linda promised.

Mike and Darren sat back down on the bed, Mike pulling Linda onto his lap. Before he knew it , all three were chanting '_Potter! Potter! Potter!'_

_Goodbye, nap._

* * *

Emily and Andrew stood in the middle of the crowded hallway surrounded by a large crowd. On his way to detention with Cole, Harry wandered over to inspect the commotion.

The sound of slamming lockers, zipping backpacks, and excited chatter surrounded a small table with no chairs.

After pushing his way to the center he saw the flustered duo rambling and scrambling madly, giving out tickets and counting money. The Wicca wonderland posters where plastered in a messy array behind them.

"Down beasties! There's enough for all of you!" Andrew yelled over the crowd.

A dance. What a strange concept of ordinary celebration after what he'd been through. Harry had never been to a muggle ball. Studying the crowd, he wondered if there was much difference between the two.  
The tickets weren't that expensive, only £3 each. Buying one was tempting, but just as quickly as the prospect of fun entered his mind, it exited, replaced by that of the soon to be Witch Hunter invasion.

So many student's had gathered to buy tickets, that even if Harry could go, getting through the crowd was one Triwizard Tournament trial he didn't want to face.

Just when he was about to turn back, a familiar figure walked past him .  
Harry froze, recognizing the dark hair and broad stature of the muggle he'd pelted with a water balloon. He reminded Harry of some teen celebrity Linda talked about often with that roughed up but boyish complexion—_Leonardo DiCaprio. _Tall and pale with a timeless face, making it impossible to know his exact age._  
_Malfoy walked beside him._  
_He and Draco both wore leather jackets and slick gelled back hair. The other students made way for them.

Sighing when he didn't notice him, Harry had begun to walk again before he heard, "Amber? No, you can ask her. Marry her for all I care," Draco told the jock.

"A ticket for me and her it is. Can't believe you let that one go, mate, a hot girl like her. I'll ask her the first chance I get."

_Like hell you will._

Eyes locked on the two the whole way, harry watched as they both bought two tickets. Once they were gone, Harry whispered, "let the fourth task begin," and dove into the mob.

By the time Harry reached detention, he was sweaty, panting, bruised, and victoriously holding two Halloween ball tickets.

"You're late, Potter."

"I was—"

The Headmistress put a hand up, pacing around the room. "No need to explain. Just take a seat beside Mr. Quinn. I have a special detention planned for the both of you," she looked from Cole to Harry with a mix between a devious and an amused smile.

Harry did as he was told, avoiding eye contact with Cole.

Mrs. Gray left the room, leaving the two alone in silence. Whatever she had planned, Harry knew he wouldn't enjoy it.

"You're alive," Cole stated.

Harry looked turned to him. "As are you."

That was the end of the conversation. Mrs. Gray walked back in with a bucket and two brushes. "I assume neither of you are allergic to paint? I've brought two of those mouth and nose head coverings just in case. Sergio here will lead you to the school fence. Be sure not spill any of that paint on the side walk, understood?"

A short, chubby man stood behind the headmistress carrying a small ladder. He wore a janitor's uniform, but his face looked more like someone you'd find shirtless, wearing big red boxing gloves while flipping TV channels. '_El Luchador wins the first round, folks!'_  
Harry and Cole looked distastefully at each other.

Bonding exercise. Get the two boys to work to together, and _maybe_ they'll work out their differences. The Headmistress couldn't be more wrong, Harry thought. This wasn't some petty personal disagreement such as the one he had with Malfoy. Cole was _evil._

They followed Sergio out into the cold. If grunting counted as instructions, it was the only manual labor tip he gave them before departing.

"Shall we get started then?" Harry said to Cole with sarcastic cheerfulness.

Cole grunted like Sergio and picked up the paint brush.

The fence was wooden and rather tall, about the average room distance from floor to ceiling.  
Cole painted in silence, occasionally throwing empty glances at Harry. The only other sound besides that of the wet squish of the white satin on wood and rustle of leaves was the loud, yet distant sound of the Walker high students prancing around the school—talking, shouting, laughing, playing—in the Saturday joy.

What would have his life been like if he'd never received his letter? The teen _was_ supposed to assist a different school than that of Dudley's. Maybe in that safe haven his life wouldn't have been so bad. Linda, Mike, Darren, and Amber proved this much. A full experience of the muggle life filled with late night movie trips, camping out, clubs, sports would have been a journey that left a sweet, sparkling taste in Harry's mouth had it not been for Cole.

Calder had made him promise to keep his grandson safe, but watching and hearing about the other wizards going out to parities, malls, parks, or just plain kicking back and relaxing with their new muggle friends made Harry think that—just maybe—some promises were made to be broken.

Cole climbed up the ladder. It was beginning to darken by the time they started on the top part of the fence. Short and light as he was, the ladder shook under his weight. Once on top, carefully he began painting.

Harry let him have it because of his height and settled for jumping and stretching to reach the high parts. Occasionally, Cole would hop off, move the ladder, and paint another part of the fence. The wind began to increase gradually until it was a furious howl. They were almost finished. Darkness surrounded them with the exception of the glowing moon and only a mere two meters of fence were left.

The ladder rattled slightly under Cole at first. It was without warning when the harmless shake morphed into a wind-born earthquake. Harry heard the noise and turned to see Cole gripping on to the seat of the wobbly death trap, yellow faced and frozen. Harry ran to steady it, leaves and dirt hitting his face.  
The ladder tipped. Quickly, Harry dove, scrapping against the ground and triumphantly catching Cole like a nearly missed shot of volleyball.

All of this had come so fast, none of his heroic actions coming to conscience. An act of mere instinct ending with falling rain, lighting, thunder, and another large cracking sound that did not hail from the sky.  
Cole slid off Harry's arms, skull intact. The muggle looked down at him, both wide eyed from the fall and as a prey watching a predator in relieved shock. A lamb perplexed by the lion's actions. The beast had had the target in site, yet spared its life. What an illogical nature.

In all honesty Harry didn't give a crap if he'd gained the vile lamb's trust or not. Scrapping his chest against the pavement had been nothing as he came to realize that the cracking sound had been his left arm. Cole might've been about to say something. Harry never found out over the scream.

* * *

"I wouldn't be lying to Mrs. Gray, you know, if I told her you broke my arm."

Cole still didn't say anything. Just like when they were painting, the boy kept silent, though, his expression had changed. Something was different. His features were softer, and eyes wider. There was certain numbness to his gaze. Either Harry had struck a chord or Cole was on some type of drugs.

Harry didn't go to the nurse, but rather to see McGonagall.

"_Twenty-four hours_, Mr. Potter. You failed to keep your bones intact for twenty-four hours!"

Walking outside of the closet-room, Harry found Cole waiting outside for him. The boy was leaning against the wall picking at an invisible piece of nothing on his shirt collar.

"Can I help you?"

"It's fine now?"

"_Bibbidi Bobbidi bo_."

Cole's lip twitched and he coughed loudly. "Er thanks, I guess."

_I guess? I guess?! 'I guess' I should've let you fall. _"Yeah, no problem, _I guess."_

Cole walked off. Aggravatingly enough, Harry realized he'd chosen to break his arm instead of his promise.

* * *

_The next day..._

"You got this, Mate," Ron told him.

Mike smirked down at Harry. "Just walk up there. Don't be such a girl."

"Excuse me?" Linda and Hermione said in unison.

"I believe _I _was speaking to my best friend. Stay out of it, Harris."

"Oh will you two stop the bickering already? Geez! Ron, Mike is sorry. Mike, quit calling him a witch." Darren looked up from his sketch pad for his last comment. "Harry, if you don't ask her out already, I _will _call her over."

Harry glared at Darren, his grip on the tickets tightening. "You wouldn't."

Darren put the notebook down, tilted his chin up, and sat up from the lunch table.  
After all these years of trial and tribulations, Harry had never actually died. But the minute Darren turned to the other table and loudly shouted "AMBER!" the teen's soul left his body.

Heaven was nice. A lovely figure with curly black stands of hair, slightly pulled back by a shimmering blue headband came closer to him. At the stop, Amber's hair swished close to his face as she sat next to him, waiting for Darren to tell her why she'd been summoned. The rosy vanilla aroma penetrated his nostrils.

"Hi. What's up?"

"Potter wants to ask you something."

All eyes on the table turned to him, including a pair of curious, yet intrigued, chocolate colored ones.

"Not another mission is it, Harry?" Amber laughed, oblivious to the words stuck on his tongue.

The moment was there and now. Without warning, heaven had turned to hell.

* * *

**A/N: yeah, this was an odd chapter. then again, this is an odd fic. so ... . I'm tired lol don't judge me-pancakes lalalalal.**

**REVIEW (Guest) ANSWERING TIME! :**

**Sarah(guest): THANK YOU! I'm so glad you like this fic. This review, along with others, was in the back of my mind on lazy/unmotivated days :)**

**Well, await my next chapter soon. ILY guys &amp; please review! (100! come on, we can do it!)**

**P.S: Question: who's your favorite OC &amp; why? Curious :)**  
**Mine is Cole since I know his backstory. *cough* no spoilers *cough***


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: I'M SORRY IK ITS BEEN FOREVER. Please say you haven't forgotten about me?  
My goal is to finish this fic before summer's end. There ( not counting this one) are 2 chapters left in this fic. I may or may not do an extra one to disclose all/some the information (in a small story chapter type way) about what happens to some of the characters after this adventure, but I probably wont.  
Be warned: This is the hardest chapter I've ever written from this fic.  
! PLEASE READ THE A/N at the bottom after finishing! (it contains some spoilers so I suggest only after finishing) for some explanation regarding choices made in this chapter. **

**My beta is nowhere to be found so I apologize if there are any typos in this chapter. I'll try to fix them to the best of my ability when the fic has concluded for future viewers.  
Hope you enjoy!  
-lauralydney**

* * *

**Chapter 26**

If screaming into your pillow counted as progress, Harry was making plenty.

"You had her, mate."

He screamed some more.

"You just had to say four words. _Four words._"

Darren was right. Harry didn't think _'wanna be my date?_' would be the biggest tongue-twister in history.

Maybe if he walked out of the room everyone would just have forgotten what happened?  
How long had it been? Maybe the coast was clear now.  
_I need to apologize to Amber.  
_Though, technically it had been an accident.

There was a knock at the door.

A small creaking sound let Harry know Darren was at least being cautious on who he was letting in their dorm.  
_I sacrifice myself to the witch hunters. Just take me already._  
The door slammed open.  
Harry heard an impatient sigh, and then his covers were roughly ripped away.

No. His prayer hadn't been answered.

"Oh for the love of—get up!"

"Boys dorm, Hermione!"

"School is in peril, Harry! There is no time for moping around. You have to train the D.A. Come on; we're all waiting for you."

Why did she have to be right all the time?  
Even though she was, the thought of leaving his bed, using his cursed powers that got him in to more trouble than needed, and then arriving at detention with Cole again was too much.

Just when he thought more yelling was coming, a gentle hand was placed on his back. "You can fix things with Amber later, okay? But right now we need you."

Harry lifted his head and slowly stood.

The universe had never given him quite time. There was no reason to think it would start now.  
Walking down the hallway to the D.A room, the thought struck him that—if he survived—they would all laugh at this morning one day. Wishful thinking at its best perhaps?  
Yes, one day. Not today.

Some of the D.A members did laugh and whisper when they though Harry wasn't looking. It didn't really bother him—he expected this much—but all throughout the lesson the soda soaked, disgusted, and enraged face of Amber remained him in the back of his mind. The haunting grew with every ticking second.

Even when finishing the last of the fence with Cole, the numbness from the embarrassment took over. He didn't bother picking up the brush or opening the can of paint. Harry simply waved his wand over the wood, finishing the job.

Cole about fainted at first, thinking that Harry would turn the weapon on him. Realizing what happened he said, "You couldn't have done that yesterday?"

"Here—"Harry threw a balled up paper—"free dance ticket."

"You asking me out, Potter?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Flattered, but it's more of a 'keep your mouth shut' gift."

The dwarf smirked, knowing this was about Amber. He was one of the few who knew what really happened back in the cafeteria.

Cole shook his head. "Too bad. I happen to have plans that day."

* * *

Somehow the muggles convinced Harry to go to the dance anyway.  
Not that he liked the idea of using his ticket, but Linda and Hermione refused to let him sit in his room watching anime with Mike and Darren all day. When they had found the empty ice cream buckets they went ballistic.

The power of women was beyond his comprehension.  
One minute you're calmly lying in bed relaxing. An iron hard mindset to remain sedentary in peaceful forgetfulness. The next minute you're wondering how they dragged three fifteen-year-old guys to go dress shopping with them.

"It's a Halloween ball. You're supposed to be scary," Darren complained when glancing at the fifth outfit Linda had tried on.

"Fairies can't be scary," Linda said, fixing the lace on her purple satin dress.

"Ever met one?" Ron objected.

Linda's face lit up. "You guys have? That's insane! What do they look like?"

"You're missing the wings," Ron told her. "But other than that, your size fits the picture."

Linda rolled her eyes. "Harry, what do you think?"

The young wizard smiled, first at the drooling Michel Harris, then at Linda, "you look nice."

Hermione came out wearing a simple blue cotton dress.

"You guys really aren't getting the whole Halloween thing, are you?" Darren complained.

"Quit being so impatient," Hermione said. "We aren't even half way done here. Accessories make all the difference between a dress and a costume."

The mall was bizarre to Ron most of all. After Linda and Hermione decided on their dresses, they walked around some, partially out of boredom, and partially to keep Harry from going back under the bed covers.  
There were so many stores with useless yet suddenly necessary things. _Does your dog need a self-tossing ball machine? Well, he does now! Why not by a dog at the next store to go with it as well? _

Harry smiled for the first time all day when they walked by the pet store. Maybe Sirius needed a pal.

"Did you see that?" Ron said to Harry. "They're selling fancy chunks of wood on wheels."

"You've never ridden a skateboard?" Mike scoffed. "And I thought_ I_ had a crappy childhood."

"You're the one who's never ridden a broom," Ron said.

"Last I checked that's just a chunk of wood with hair."

Harry and Ron both glared at Harris.

"How. Dare. You."

"Yeah, Mike," Darren said. "You're just saying that because you've never ridden a broom."

"You have?" Linda asked.  
She looked accusingly at Harry and Ron. "When were you going to let us in on all this secret fun?"

"Oh, look!" Harry said, pointing to a random store. "A thing!"

Linda and Hermione went away to buy more accessories, trusting Ron, Mike, and Darren to keep Harry from going back to moping.  
It wasn't long before he found himself looking down a steep path downhill outside the mall parkway, holding the stupid chunk of wood on wheels—a skateboard.

"Wizard's fix broken bones easily, right Ron?"

Ron nodded at Darren, dreading his turn.  
Harry was willing to bet it wasn't as easy as Mike had made it look.

"Okay, since this is your first time, make sure not to wave back and forth with your back and torso too much. The balance is mostly in the feet. Don't put so much body effort into it because you'll fall. Oh, and bend your knees. Simple enough, right?"

"Can't I practice on level ground first?"

"Nonsense! We haven't got all day. Besides, the best way to learn is by jumping right into the action."

Harry went forward and did as Mike instructed, only to wipe out a meter down the hill.  
Over and over again Harry tried, obtaining new scrapes and bruises each time. Ron talked his way out of doing it.  
It appeared Mike was completely okay with them being so terrible at it, given that his sole purpose—as Harry found out—was showing off some more after they failed.

They sat down under the shade of a nearby tree, waiting for the girls.

A single leaf fell on Harry's head. The month was coming to an end.

"The ball is tomorrow," he said to himself. "And we leave on Friday."

Mike and Ron had been arm wrestling, but quickly came to a halt. Darren stopped staring into space, those words bringing him crashing down, out of his artistic fantasies, and back to reality. Thinking about the different shades on the autumn leaves, and the twist and turns of branches, Harry guessed was what passed through Darren's mind.

"Yeah," Darren frowned. "Back to magic school, huh?"

"It's been only a month. You can't leave!" Mike pushed Ron down on the grass as if it were his fault. "There's so many stupid _muggle _nonsense I haven't showed you!"

"I can't believe it's only been a month. I feel like we've known you guys forever."

"Don't go crying on me, Darren," Harry said, elbowing him.

"Stuff it, witch."

"You guys will visit, right?" Mike asked. His face had a forced calmness. Like a teacher feigning that everything was under control in front of the Headmistress. Pretending that he wouldn't miss them was a worse attempt than Harry's at skateboarding.

"Definitely," Harry said without thinking. _If I don't die, that is._

"Will we ever be able to visit you?" Darren asked.

Harry and Ron exchanged a glum look. "You're not even supposed to know about us. I wish you could."

"There's so many things I want to show you too," Ron told them. "Like going to Quidditch games."

"Wizards chess," Harry said.

"My brothers' prank shop."

It grew quite. The only sound was that of the rustling leaves and soft wing. A barrier surrounded them. An invisible division between muggle and wizard. For the first time since meeting Mike and Darren, Harry could finally see it. They could never truly cross it.

Linda and Hermione came back with various shopping bags, giggling with bubbly excitement. The barrier was around them too.

* * *

The garden outside Linda's house sold out the interior; a place for everything and everything in its place. There was hardly any grass or flowers. Any existent plant life was in white, rectangle pots, all the leaves, thorns, and grass trimmed to straight perfection.  
Instead of soft pastures with thick, lively bushes, the floor was made of Bavarian castle stone, like a previous warning for the arrivals to remove their shoes once inside.

In all honestly, the lot didn't look that big, but the perfectly painted white walls, pristine windows, and intimidating corbel arch door made it clear to any bystander that pride was a thing this household wore well.

Linda had a gift for fashion design. To her parent's distaste, she used it to feed her anime addiction by recreating outfits of their favorite characters—_cosplay fan_ is what Darren had called it.  
With just a few touches on their new outfits, she would make them the best costumes the Halloween Ball had ever seen.

Linda rang the doorbell. A petit man with round, bottle sized glasses answered the door. He had a jet-black chin beard, thick eyebrows, a gray mechanics t-shirt, black pajama pants and white slippers. His head was slightly bald in the front, but his features remained youthful.

A bright smile appeared on his face when he saw Linda. "I was wondering when you'd come around here again!"  
Then a frown. "Darren, Harris. I see you've come back."

"We're really sorry about—"

"Yes, yes, I've heard."

Guilt crossed Linda's original smile before she hugged him. "Dad," she said after pulling away. "These are my new friends, Hermione, Harry, and Ron."

Mr. Nyguen shook each of their hands, lasting a bit longer on Hermione. "Linda's told me all about you on the phone. It's nice that my daughter finally has a girl friend."

Harry felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. The way the man's eyes sparkled when laid upon his daughter's reminded him that because of him, her father had almost lost her forever.

Linda led them through the living room—a white leather set of sofas surrounding a glass tea table and a Bavarian stone fireplace. No TV or livid colors in sight—to the pull down attic stairs in the hall of portraits.

"We can be as loud as we want up there," she told the wizards. "Plus it's my new room."

The attic wasn't you're typical dusty, cobweb filled nightmare. The wooden floor was slick clean and anime posters bombarded the walls. Stacks of books were scattered on the floor near the pink beanbag chairs and a single TV.  
Only the mattress and the nightstand with a purple-orange lava lamp gave knowledge to any newcomer of this being someone's room rather than hipster lounge.

There was about one or two family pictures on the shelves, but the rest were of her, Mike, and Darren. Harry's eyes stopped on a single photograph of a younger Linda with braces and pigtails. She was eating ice cream next to a pretty, black haired girl with even darker eyes.  
Harry did a double take. He knew that girl. Or at least seen her before. From where, he did not know.

He thought back to all the muggles in his classes to see which one she might be, but came back emptyhanded. If it weren't for the lack of freckles, she could've been Emily.

"What was all that about?" Hermione asked Linda.

"My dad doesn't trust boys. He wanted to send me to an all-girls school, but I wanted to study where my brother had."

"Not that, the think with Mike and Darren."

"Oh, that." Mike began to laugh, but Linda glared it out of him. "Last break we snuck Linda out to an anime convention in town. Her parents forbid her from going to _such an absurd waste of time. You bring shame on family, Linda! Sham—_ouch!"

"They broke a window trying to get my attention."

"Hey, throwing rocks at windows always works in movies," Darren said.

Harry, Ron, and Mike sat on the bean bags, Darren and Hermione on the bed, and Linda got to work on their costumes.

The conversations went on for what felt like hours. First they got to talking on all the rumors and gossip of Walker High.

"No, Andrew and Emily aren't dating. Are you kidding? They'd kill each other before the honeymoon stage," Darren told Hermione.

"Wipe that smile off your face, Harry," Hermione said.

Then it took a turn to anything and everything about Hogwarts.

"What the hell do you mean there's no internet?" Mike said.

"No television either." Hermione told him.

"You at least have Mp3s right?"

Ron raised an eyebrow. "Have a what?"

"Forget that," Linda said over the rattle of the sewing machine. "How dense do you think we are? A talking hat that reads minds? Drugs are bad, kids."

"Who made up those names anyway?" Mike smirked. "_Gryffindorks. . Slytherwimps. _You make it too easy."

After watching _This Boy's Life_, the talk turned to storytelling with the TV as a buzzing background noise on the muggle news channel

It was a miracle neither of Linda's parents came upstairs to make them keep it down.

"Turned him into a ferret! That's gold."

"That's not even the best part. Then they made him—"

Harry's phone buzzed. It was Amber.

He flipped it open, unsure what to expect. Maybe she wanted to talk about what happened? If that was the case, he should probably hang up.

The memory flashed in Harry's mind, reliving the embarrassment a second time in a span of seconds.

_Harry sat in the lunch table, Amber and the rest of lunchroom's inhabitants' eyes on him._

_His mouth was dry, and all Harry wanted to do was run. _So much for that brave Gryffindor pride. _  
_Say it. Just say it. _"Will you—I mean, if you want—maybe go…Uh, Would you like to go to the dance—" Amber's eyes light up in shock for a millisecond. It happened too fast. She knew what the boy was struggling to ask.  
_Abort mission! Abort mission!  
"—_with Darren?"_

Silence.

_It may have been Harry's imagination, but did Amber look…disappointed?  
Her eyes turned to Darren who's jaw was hanging open, looking like he was about to pull off the most epic face palm in history._

"_I—" Amber began._

_A hand slammed down on the table. The muggle that Harry had pelted with water balloons stared fixatedly at Harry and then cackled. "Oh _come on!"

"_Priceless! Absolutely priceless. This is by far the worse failed attempt of them all."_

"_Henry—"_

"_No, really, sweetheart. Of all the boys that asked you out so far, this dweeb wins. Way to throw your friend under the bus there. Too bad she's already agreed to go with me."_

"_When did I—"_

"_Oi! Malfoy! You were right, Potter's was basically drooling. Owe you £3, right?"_

_That's when the second explosion of the year took place, this time, a bit less target coordinated.  
Anger manifests itself differently each time. When Draco had teased Harry about soccer, the veins in his hands pulsed with the desire to rip out Malfoy's throat.  
This time, however, it wasn't really Henry or Malfoy he wanted to slaughter, but rather everything around him. The mortification of the situation had him at the same level of anger and fear as if he'd accidentally thrown himself off a cliff. Anger at his stupidity, anger at the damn cliff, but overall fear of death._

_Just like the swirling madness, the water bottle exploded, drenching most everyone at the table, sparing Harry. _

_Yes. It was just water. No big deal._

_The problem was Amber's once decent white shirt turned into a translucent—nearly transparent—window of her…Let's just they it was bright pink, and knowing her, probably matched her underwear._

_Someone pointed.  
It was too late.  
People laughed.  
She ran.  
Harry ran, but the opposite way._

"It's Amber," Harry told them before putting the phone to his ear.

"Tell her I'm not interested," Darren said.

Luckily, the voice wasn't the cheerleaders. "Harry?"

"Lavander? Why are you calling from Amber's phone? Is Amber okay?"

"Mostly, yeah."

"She's hurt?"

"Not too badly. But that's not important. Are you with Ron and Hermione?"

"Yes, why?"

"Amber called for a meeting. I told her only you're allowed to do that, but she wouldn't listen. We're all in the D.A room now—"

"You guys can handle her. I don't have time to babysit."

"That's not it, she found something."

Harry paused, waiting for Lavender to continue.

"Amber found the Lab."

* * *

An endless drizzle of rain tapped lightly on the roof of the attic. When Amber arrived in a worn out, the sound had become the batter of Niagara Falls, echoing to the beat of the sewing machine.

In all the excitement, Linda had not stopped working.

Her mom had lead Amber to the attic. Scrunching up her nose at the messy area, she shut the door behind her.

Amber sat on the bed. Her cuts, as Lavander had explained were already healed thanks to the D.A. It was no secret that the girl had been in the lab to the W.S.S. Though she'd retrieved more than enough information on their enemies, a near capture experience had caused her to break a window and bust out.  
That cheerleader, Harry thought, never failed to surprise him.

Not much had been said on the phone other than "_Amber says she'll be right over"._

Her face was ashen, like she'd just seen a ghost.

Amber didn't bother with polite greetings or any acknowledgment of the muggles. Instead, she reached in her back pack and pulled out several files and handed them to Harry.

"Be warned," she told him. "Some are a bit graphic."

Harry started with the folder labeled 'experiments', but Amber grabbed it from him. "Actually, it's best if you start with the bottom one."

_W.S.S _read the dust coated cover of the oldest looking folder. Harry opened it.

_Youngest living relative of 1486's famous author of _The Malleus Maleficarum _(commonly known as _The Hammer of The Witches) _has been identified as Calder Quinn, a British citizen living in the outskirts of London with his wife Mary and two Children (Bruno and Ester Quinn).  
When questioned on the continuation of the family's witch hunting tradition, Mr. Quinn gave no commentary._

Harry flipped the page coming across the longest family tree he'd ever seen. He was strangely reminded of the Malfoy legacy.  
Skimming down to the bottom, he spotted Calder's name, alongside his wife Mary and their two children. Bruno (Cole's father) and his sister were the last mention.

"You have to talk to Calder," Amber said. "The rest of the documents are more recent. No other mention of witch hunting, only past occurrences from centuries ago retold. The last one doesn't add up. It's like a random burst of violence during ages of peace."

_Experiments._

As quickly as he opened it, Harry closed it.

"_Bloody—what is…?"_

It was something completely out of _WICCA_. A mixture of the gruesome massacre with a hint of _The Unearthly _and _Murder Clinic. _

Worse of all, it was recent. _Very_ recent.

Slowly, Harry reopened it and flipped through the pages. Various pictures of bloodied bodies. Thought the corpses themselves were a mess, what harry could see of the area was organized, and at the same time gruesome, like the lab from Frankenstein. Tubes and needles, and what may have been organs in jars were just barely visible in the background.

'_Harvest his organs for all I care,_'Harry recalled Cole's father say to the doctor back in the cabin.

A different number was written on the corner of each picture.

_Failed cure.  
Failed cure.  
Failed cure.  
Failed cure._

Cure?

"Bruno Quinn wants a cure," Amber told the group.

"Meaning?" Hermione said, as Harry handed her the documents.

"He wants to rid the world of wizards."

* * *

Harry told the muggles to stay behind. This time Amber didn't object, having had more than her share of fun for one day.  
Ron and Hermione were already out the door, but Harry stopped. Once again, he was transfixed by the old picture of Linda and the mysterious girl.  
"Who is that?"

"Hmm?" Linda looked up from the sowing machine.

"The girl in the picture."

"That old thing? My first friend in this town. You wouldn't know her. She moved about five years ago."

"Oh," Harry said and began walking out again.

"Agnes was her name?" Mike said.

Harry's blood ran cold. His foot frozen in midair, he turned towards the muggle's again. "What did you just say?"

"Yeah, Agnes. She used to go here. Left without warning one day. Rumors say she was shipped off to some school for troubled children."

_They knew the girl. They knew Agnes._

"Do you know how to contact her? Where she is?"

Linda raised an eyebrow, turning off the machine. "Why?"

"I think she can help us. Did she know Cole?"

"You're not making any sense. No, I've no idea where she is."

"Wait," Darren said. "Wasn't she related to Cole? Remember? That birthday party of his you went with her to?"

"That explains the creepy," Mike said, then rolled his eyes when Linda frowned. "Don't look at me that way, the girl was strange. No wonder they shipped her off. They should get rid of crazy Quinn too."

"Harry!" Ron called from downstairs.

The muggles didn't seem like they knew much more. He waved goodbye, ignoring Amber's gaze, and left to search for their last hope—whether he wanted to give them answers or not—Calder Quinn.

* * *

The files Amber had given them disclosed the location of Calder's home. Harry only hopped the man still lived there.

_Borrowing_ Amber's dad's car, they arrived at a humble cabin, very different to that of Cole's home.  
Bruno Quinn lived in a secluded neighborhood, but Calder's home was completely isolated from any population for miles around.  
It was a large home. Maybe once it had been beautiful, but the wood was worn, a lot of it tangled in twisted thickets and wild flowers. The same essence of the cabin from Hansel and Gretel, but without the candy. If shrunk up, it could be confused for a doll house to woodland fairies.

The fact that it appeared abandoned was the only ominous thing it had to offer.  
A large family home for the lone man.

Harry walked up the creaking steps and knocked on the door.

No answer.

He knocked again.  
Just when he was about to leave, the strangest sight to greet human eyes answered the door.

Calder Quinn wore a T-shirt, PJ pants and an apron, holding a cookie tray and a baseball bat in the other.

Threatening and harmless. The image of Hagrid in muggle form, and the stalker-like wisdom of Dumbledore in his word.

"Potter," he said, not a hint of surprise in his tone. "I've been expecting ye."

Harry had expected confrontation.  
In all honesty, he was a bit annoyed aswell as relieved. The whole speech had been planned in his head about how Calder would never see the light of day unless he spilled the beans on his son's evil plots.

Instead, the wizards sat on the couch of his cozy home eating cookies while Calder answered their questions patiently.

The man was definitely a grandfather type. The way his eyes grew distant, telling stories to grandchildren by the fire. At the same time, his stern and threatening demeanor fit perfectly in the picture.

"The W.S.S had been inactive for a number of years," Calder explained. " Sure, we were well informed on the existence of yer kind, but overall we didn't give it much thought. Not that we were too happy with it, but we were just as violent as the average folk."  
He paused, head tilting slightly upward, staring at invisible memories. His face darkened, reminding harry of an old soldier recalling war tales.

"Then you-know-who came to power. We had to take action to protect our kind. The old rusty cabin was fixed up for training, our wives and children behind locked doors, and a gun placed in every hand.  
"Both my children we're already married at the time. Bruno had married a sweet lady—Abigayle. Very kind hearted woman, sharp as nail. Cole was just a baby at the time. Ester had married Paul and had Agnes.  
"I wanted them far away from all the witch hunting business, but they wouldn't listen. Bruno was friends with this one wizard—can't recall the name—and he fought alongside us against the death eaters."

Calder's eyes went from foggy to grief-stricken. Harry didn't want to make him continue, having sensed this story had no happy ending, but it had to be done.

"They were best friends, the two of them. Bruno let him into our home and to meet Abby. Showed him the cabin where they would train together. But he sold him out. He sold all of us out to You-know who for the promise of power. Abby, Ester, Paul, and other witch hunters were killed during the cabin raid. They knew all our traps and weak spots. It was too late when we realized it was a lost battle and only a few of us escaped. Bruno got Cole and Agnes out in time, but we knew we were done for. They'd find us in a matter of days.  
"But then ye killed him, and us muggles were safe."

Harry wished the story would end here, but he could tell Calder wasn't done. "Bruno grew to hate all wizards. He fixed up the Cabin again, making it bigger, using the best equipment money could buy. With all the tension of the almost-war still fresh, many other witch hunting groups got together and the W.S.S grew. I couldn't take Cole away from him, but Agnes I managed to drag away from his pain given nonsense."

"Agnes lived with you?" Harry asked. "Is she still here?"

"She does, but back then not so much. For the most part, yes. Cole, Bruno, and she had already lived together for far too long for me to keep them apart, so she and I moved in close by. My son and I had our differences. He called me a fool for not joining him on his witch hunts. I began to think he was right, but then something happened."

Calder paused again, smiling sadly. "What?" Hermione asked.

"It's best if I just show you."

They followed Calder up two flights of stairs, Harry pausing on the first one. A wooden door decorated with green flower stickers made it obvious a girl lived inside.

"No, the attic," Calder had told him. "She really only ever sleeps in her room."

The more they went up, the louder what Harry thought at first to be the radio grew to be. A wondrous voice, soft, yet strong. Sophisticated and melodic like a siren, holding the free wind of a country tone echoing just outside the attic door.

Politely, they all paused by the door. Calder never knocked. They all stood outside, transfixed and listening to her voice. Calder leaned against the wall, a proud smile on his face.

" _I was lifted up  
I was on the brink of giving up  
Nowhere to run.  
Nowhere to hide  
Blind child, you're dead inside._

_Alone in a court room is where I saw you  
With nails in your hands  
You said 'for you I have greater plans._

_Walk out of jail. I am your bail_

_YOU ARE MINE  
YOU ARE MINE.  
Take my hand, I paid your fine!_

_Rest in me, I'll set you free.  
I've made a home for you with me."_

Her voice stopped abruptly. It was like snapping awake from a peaceful dream. Harry wanted to hear the rest of the song, but like shattered slumber, the dream was not regained by a hopeful shut of the eye, or—in this case—strain of the ear.

Instead, Harry heard soft mumbling, and the scratching of pencil on paper.

Calder knocked. "Love? You've got company."

All noises stopped inside.  
"Who?"

Before Calder answered, the door clicked open, the girl answering her own question.

"Who i—"

Jet black hair, just like Cole's, but longer matched the color of widening, fearful eyes of the young girl. Her face had morphed from intrigue, to shock, to fear in the millisecond it took for her and Harry to make eye contact.

"_Harry Potter?"_

Hermione gasped_. "You!" _

Harry was speechless. The long side bangs, too voluminous for her petit body, made up her entire hairstyle. The jet black locks gave her the appearance of a dazzling dark fairy. Her long nose and thin lips only added to her unique beauty, like a rare gem that only few could appreciate.  
She looked like they type of girl you'd find in an old record store, or in the back of a hipster coffee shop. Some guys might approach her while other would steer clear. A love it or hate it situation without room for middle ground.

One thing was for sure; if they heard her sing, they'd swarm her like flies. She was a siren.

But Harry, Ron, and Hermione weren't gaping at Agnes because of her rarity, but rather the memory.  
It was the same girl with the lime green backpack on their first day at walker high who'd stood head down, sad, but unashamed when McGonagall confiscated her wand.

"The girl who stunned Amber," Harry gaped. "You're Cole's cousin."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I really hope some of you guys liked it and didn't find it too cheesy. PLEASEEE tell me what you think in the reviews.  
Now for the important bit.  
This has been a very tragic month in which not only was my favorite singer since I was 10years old killed in one of the worse ways possible, but a club attacked in the same state by another crazy gun man. All those innocent people. I just can't fathom it.  
I don't know how to express how sad I am about the club massacre. My heart and prayers go out to the victims and their families.**

**MY INSPIRATION FOR AGNES: this one goes out to Christina Grimmie (wow, I dedicated a fanfic chapter, big deal *sarcasm from viewers*).  
Actually, not the chapter itself, but Agnes. Just like Christina, Agnes is a devoted singer with an amazing voice, because a Slytherin has to have ambition. Until Christina's death, I was unsure of which one to give Agnes  
Christina (like me) loved/s Christ and was unafraid to be ridiculed by it, Agnes will be the same. She was non-judgmental, loving, introverted, loved by her friends and family, and my sister in Christ. Though i'm not one to ever get emotional about a celebrity's death, she was a great part of my childhood-pre-teens-teens.  
Agnes Victoria Grimmie, welcome to the story.  
If you read all that, thank you**

**I don't believe the next chapter will take as long. The story is nearing an end. Please review, and I hope you have an amazing week. **


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Sorry for the wait.  
This chapter was actually going to be 3x longer, but I decided to cut in in to 2 parts (meaning chapter 28 is already finished and should be up either tomorrow or the day after) in order to organize my brain. The fic ends in chapter 29 so we're almost there!**

**A special thanks to my beta _The Wandering Muse_ for helping me with this chapter. Words cannot explain how stressed. nervous, and happy these last 3 chapters have made me. As much as I love this fic, I want it to end so I can have my first novel-sized finished work.**

**Hope you enjoy &amp; please review!  
-lauralydney**

* * *

**Chapter 27**

Anges stretched out the tray to the unwelcome visitors. "Cookies?"

Numbly, Harry took one. Calder's baking skills weren't half bad. At least they were easier to swallow than this new information.

"I'm sorry about your expulsion," Harry said, recalling the sting of those same words when they had been spoken to him. The wizards were dumbfounded when Anges shrugged indifferently.

"I didn't really like Hogwarts anyway."

"You enrolling at another wizarding school? I hear Beauxbatons is much cheaper anyway," Hermione said.

"I'd have to move to France first. Plus, no way. I'm not going back to a magic school. What a torture that was."

Harry gaped at her. Was she even speaking English right now?  
"Torture?"

She smiled, amused. "Thought you might react that way. But honestly, all we ever learn is magic. Where's the art? Music? Other sports? None of them have clubs, or classes that don't involve a bloody wand."

Harry opened his mouth to argue, but she held up a hand. Her eyes were bright and lively. Physically she was the picture of energy. Her movements, however, were sluggish and tired.

"I'm guessing you have some questions for me? Let's just skip the 'oh but magic is so cool' debate and feel free to ask away."

Ouch.

He had wanted to get straight to the point. For the first time this year, Harry had found someone that understood. Still, he wanted to know more about her. Of all his years in Hogwarts, never had he encountered someone so willing to trade a wand for a pencil.

It was an eye-opener. Everyone always assumed you'd be happiest in the wizarding community. _Oh, those poor ordinary muggles, how boring their lives must be._

Even with all the fun time spent with Mike, Darren, and Linda—movies, video games, skating, creating wonders from scratch—the idea that being a muggle could be a good thing never penetrated.

It wasn't only Agnes' singing voice which held power.

His eyes danced around the room, trying to collect his thoughts. What should he ask her first?

Before he could even begin to organize, his eyes fell upon the writing on the back wall. Song lyrics and quotes were scrambled everywhere.

In bright purple his mind read the one in the center. _'A wizard without a wand is like a muggle without a brain.'_

Double ouch.

"Have you talked to Cole recently?" Hermione began.

Agnes shook her head. "Not since we were kids, I'm afraid. Grandad tried to keep it a secret from me. At first I never understood why we never went to uncle Bruno's anymore. When Grandad found out I had powers, he wanted to keep it a secret from them.

"We moved away for a while. I'd told Grandad I didn't want to go to Hogwarts, that I really liked the academy of Walker. Uncle Bruno found us, and Grandad told him everything. He loved me, but couldn't stand to be around me—my magic brought back bad memories. He knew I didn't want the powers either, so he set off to find a cure.

Grandad thought it was nonsense, but at first the test where harmless. Simple blood samples and DNA test Still, Grandad wanted no part in it, so we moved away."

She grew quiet and began twiddling with her thumbs. Her eyes were filling up with tears, but she refused to let them spill over. Harry knew they'd reached in too deep, but it still wasn't enough.

"Then what happened?"

"Then," her voice cracked. "Then, this wizard comes to our house and tells us he's working with uncle Bruno."

Harry recalled the glowing figure back at the cabin. "Wizard? Wait, who? When?"

Agnes nodded. "We don't know what he wanted, or who he is really. I was about ten. He but told us to stay away from uncle Bruno. That he was to think we were both dead."

"Dead?"

"I don't know," Agnes said, her tears finally spilling over. "All he said is that if he thought otherwise, he would kill him."

"But didn't Cole already see you at Walker High?"

"No. He didn't get a chance to. That's why I stunned that girl. I'd been wanting to leave the school anyway, But Grandad thought I'd be best if I go. You know, to get away from this mess."

Harry grabbed a tissue from her bedside table and handed it to her.

"None of this is making any sense," Hermione said.

Agnes was full on sobbing now. "The wizard told Bruno that I'd killed Calder. Some strange malignant magic gene went off and I did it. Then the story goes that other witch hunters put an end to me," she looked at Hermione who'd wrapped an arm around her. "He believes all that."

"No wonder he's trying so hard to find a cure," Harry said to himself. "But what could a wizard get out of all this?"

Agnes shrugged. "What does it matter now? If tearing my family apart was his goal then he succeeded."

"Do you know if—"

"_Harry_," Hermione said. "I think we're done talking about this."

"The experiments have gotten worse," Ron said, ignoring Hermione's motherly glare. "We need to stop him."

"Didn't Calder tell you what his job is? He protects wizards from him, but until we don't expose the wizard without getting my uncle killed, there's not much more we can do. There are more of them than there are of us, and if they were to find out who's behind all the rescue missions…"

"So, you're done, you've given up?" Harry didn't say it coldly, but rather hopelessly.

Agnes shook her head. "You're the last hope, Harry. The best solution right now is to get him behind bars. Even if there was no wizard, Calder wouldn't dare tell him we're alive now anyway. The uncle I knew left the building after our 'death'. Telling him could put us in danger or make him completely snap."

Last hope. How did he always end up with so much responsibility? He reached out to touch Anges' hand before she started sobbing again. She smiled nervously. It was awkward enough for her to remember crying.

* * *

Harry and the others followed Calder to the basement.

It was dusty and the air made Harry's lungs constricted. The familiar odor odor—gunpowder—swallowed the room like a viper. Weapons stacked every cabinet and shelf, some too intimidating for them to even approach. Everyone that is, except for Calder and Agnes.

"What do ye see?"

"Something most likely illegal," Hermione answered.

"Exactly."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Ye look like a smart one. How much did Agnes tell ye about the witch hunters?"

Hermione beamed at the compliment, and then her features hardened, thinking hard. "They do experiments, you fight against them, but they outnumber you...nothing else really."

"They outnumber us indeed. Much more dangerous weaponry than this. And I assure ye, it is not legal. What would be a rational solution in the muggle world?"

"Police?"

"Bingo. Would've called them ages ago, but the problem with that is they work undercover. Various pen names. Even Bruno, before he got into all this nonsense, was a very fancy businessman—"

"Legal executive."

"Right. Most of them hold more power and wealth in London that is healthy for anybody. So much lute, it's hard for them to get caught with underground work. In other words—never work out in the open. Except for the battle at the school."

"What are you saying?"

"Buy time. If you get access during the attack, call the authorities. They'll run like dogs."

The wizards looked at one another. Call cops? That was it? Somehow this never crossed Harry's mind.

"This will be their first public attack. Ye don't know where it is, and I'm not any much the wiser, so ye must be prepared all the time. If it goes as planned, we might be able to decrease their numbers and put a stop to this. Bruno getting captured is preferable than having him running ramped, but Cole mustn't get involved. "

Harry rolled his eyes. This again. "Why protect him? If he wants to fight, let's let him learn his lesson. I promised to keep him safe not—"

A dark look—one Harry didn't know Calder was capable of—crossed the man's face.

"Listen here, Potter. Just because I can't see my grandson, doesn't mean I don't see him. He wants as much part in this as you do. We get Bruno and those filthy savages arrested, and I regain custody of the boy, understood?"

Agnes grabbed his arm and Calder softened.

"What do you propose we do?" Hermione said, unfazed.

"The choice must be his," Agnes said. "But you can give him a push without linking us to it."

* * *

No amount of music could blast away the raging screams in his head.

The note from Potter sat crumpled up by his bedside, and the owl waited patiently on his desk, as if knowing Cole would write back (that, or it confused the tiny white kitten sleeping in the drawer for a mouse and was contemplating whether to snack on it). What did it know? Maybe he didn't care what that potential liar said.

_'Calder and Agnes are alive.'_

Bullshit.

He'd attended their funeral himself.

_Of course, it was closed casket, and—No!_

Their death was the last thing he had to go on. Every other shred of evidence pointed towards his father lying.

Once upon a time, Cole could end the arguments by simply remembering what his dad had said. But could he trust him?

Lately Cole felt like he didn't even know him.

Why did he involve himself in this? Just a month ago his life had been more or less normal. Sure, he'd known of the existence of the wizarding community, but none of what he knew had mattered. Cole never came, even on holidays. His father's obsession with the magical world was not one he shared, and he wasn't about to spend Christmas eating cold store bought turkey while the man sat alone in his study measuring chemicals and reading documents.

Did his dad blink an eye at the perfect report card and promotion in photography class? No.

Failing stuff on purpose didn't work much either. Maybe getting a tattoo would've helped? Dying his hair blue?

Cole gave up after buying a pack of weed behind the school. No, he didn't consume it, but he did accidentally leave it in plain site by the kitchen counter. He hadn't checked in a while, but Cole was sure it was still there. That was three months ago.

The teen didn't give a rat's ass if his dad miraculously found the cure for the magical gene. Agnes had killed Calder already.

Who did he want to cure anyway? Wasn't Agnes dead too? There was no one left he cared about.

Staying away from the situation was what he had done best. Yet, he hadn't been far enough to where he couldn't recognize the wand.

The minute he saw it, he knew the monsters had come to attack his school.

A spark of life blazed in his father's eyes that day. Cole rushed home to tell his father his school was being invaded, and for the first time in ages, his dad listened.

Cole, of course, decided to join.

His last chance. He went all out. Maybe he went too far. Over and beyond what his father expected. Now he knew too much. Now he knew they weren't evil. Would he really go as far as to kill one just to get his dad's attention?

Cole jumped as someone pounded on his door. "Turn it down!" Gled yelled.

He thought of raising the volume just to piss him off, but decided to stay on his less ugly side …today.

"Filthy brat."

He waited until Gled walked away before walking downstairs.

Everyone had already arrived. More than thirty witch hunters gathered in the spacious area below.

There was no way he could do this. Anxiety wrapped around him like a fist.

Biting his lip, Cole retroceded to his room.

"Cole," his father came out of nowhere, grabbing his arm. Cole pulled away as if he'd just been burned.

Bruno raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"I don't want to do it."

"What? But you've worked so hard to get here."

"I know, but I'm not ready." Cole looked at his dad's eyes, silently praying for a spark of parental warmth. "Remember when I was eight and you took me hunting? And I couldn't kill the rabbit?"

His prayer was answered and his father's eyes softened. "It was a hare, and how could I forget? You cried for hours.

"Alright," he sighed. "You don't have to go—"laying a hand on Cole's shoulder, and for the first time in forever really seeing him "I think you've done enough. I would tell you to go and enjoy the ball, but…you understand. As I told you, don't worry, the others won't be in harm's way."

"That's what you said about my teacher and the girl."

"Well, Cole, we couldn't just let him go, he knew too much. I told you, after tonight, we set him free and relocate."

"Yes, Germany. What fun."

Bruno frowned. "Harry Potter is the biggest threat to our world. Gled says if we get rid of him, we'll be safe. The whole cure finding business? The doctor can carry on from where I left off. Just you and I in Germany for a while, alright?"

Cole's eyes widened. "Gled said that?"

"Yes. Don't fret. It'll all end today. And you don't have to lift a finger. Go back to your room and feed that kitten you're hiding in the drawer."

Cole was about to object, but then stopped abruptly. His dad looked down at him sternly. No, he hadn't questioned the witch hunters, or argued with him about Gled's intentions. Yet, his dad was mad…about the cat!

"You—you knew about that?"

"Found him yesterday. You're grounded."

"But—"

"Oh, you can keep the cat. You're grounded for the special bag I found in the kitchen yesterday too."

Maybe it was a sudden change of weather, but Cole could've sworn the room shone brighter.

Cole felt both alert and numb. Impulsively and without identified reason, he threw his arms around his dad.

The man's body stiffened, and then relaxed, as he patted Cole's back.

The teen breathed in his father's scent, trying to remember the last time he'd been close enough to smell cigar and green tea. "I'm thinking of dying my hair blue and getting a tattoo."

* * *

**A/N: I hope you guys don't mind the scene with Cole's POV. I found it necessary. Don't kill me.  
As I said, this fic is almost over so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE review. Even if you hate something, I can take it. Feedback is like oxygen to me in these last couple chapters. I love you guys and have a good week!**

**P.S: something I've become exceedingly self-conscious about; this fic takes place in a muggle school (duh) so OC's are unavoidable. Do you guys hate them? love them? meh? I've tried to pour in personality into them, but...yeah. Don't leave me in suspense with your thoughts.**  
**Okay, now bye XD**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: EARLY AS I PROMISED...okay, maybe I'm one day late.**

**This was one of my favorite (if not my favorite) chapter I've written.  
I won't blabber too long.  
Hope you enjoy!  
-lauralydney**

**P.S: THANK YOU BETA ( The Wandering Muse). You rule dude!**

* * *

**Chapter 28**

The Halloween ball—Harry had to admit—would kick Hogwart's ass.

It was, after all, their holiday.

Gold, white, and orange streamers hung down in every inch of the ceiling, each in different lengths—candy corn rain that drew even more attention to the invisible, fog filled dancefloor.

From the basketball hoops hung spider webs, connecting with every tangible object. It was both a maze of horror, and a spacious wonderland with lights and (inaccurate) statues of goblins, ghost, vampires and witches.

The gang arrived late, Darren having to help Linda with the final touches on each of their costumes.

For the guys, Linda had made simple black t-shirts that read 'Not a monster' in big bold letters on the front and back.

Darren, the makeup artist (or facial painter as he preferred) had taken hours to perfect Linda's ironic idea for their outfits.

For Mike's face, he used detailed brushstrokes and shadowing to resemble werewolf hair.

Ron's was done much quicker, Darren having found it easy to paint stitches dripping with blood and making a cardboard headband of electric bolts—the first redhead Frankenstein.

After Mike's, Harry's had taken the longest. Darren had made him the famous Halloween skeleton, with detailed cracks and shadows. Unless touched, one would think the young teen's face had been pulled clean off.

Darren had gone for a chalky, pale vampire makeup for himself. The tricky part had been the fangs since he spent what felt like hours painting the area around his mouth with realistic trickles of blood.

Hermione and Linda, on the other hand, were a different story.

Harry stopped dead in his tracks with a single look at the embellished beauties.

Hermione's plain aqua blue dress had morphed overnight into a mermaid-cut halter dress that hugged the body. It had frills at the breast and on the hem, accompanied by a cinching of the gleaming blue material strategically to show off the embodiment of plastic seashells and pearls on the headband.

She was beautiful, infatuating, and dangerous. Touching the gown was as tempting as running a hand through cold sea water.

Linda finished her own fairy outfit by adding a layer of sheer, translucent fabric to the upper part of the dress and the sleeves. Lifting her arms and twirling slowly, she showed off her graceful fairy attire to them before entering the Great Hall. Her hair was in a fishtail braid, adorned with hair clips of leaves and glittering butterflies.

Black eyeliner rimmed her eyes, giving her a punk princess look.

Harry walked alongside Darren, feeling for Calder's glasses in his pocket. As determined to have fun as he was, it was better safe than sorry.

Hermione nudged Linda forward, bumping her into Mike.

"Careful," he said, grabbing her arm and guiding her further inside. "Don't want to fall in those heels."

Even with them on, she was as petite as ever, especially walking alongside Harris.

Music blared loud enough to be heard in the parkway. There were smiling faces and dancing all around, but Harry didn't really want to be there.

He watched as Hermione was pulled up and out from her chair by Emily and Andrew, the duo inviting her to dance with them. He watched all the way up to the point where Emily left, leaving a beaming witch to dance alone with the muggle.

Ron—Harry thought—should've been more mad, but he lost all train of thought as he joined the crowd of marveled wizards at the snack table.

"They pop in your mouth Harry!"

"Pop Rocks, Ron. _Pop_ Rocks."

The redhead was soon lost to Harry along with other wizards swept away by the sea of Lemon drops, Nerds, candy corn, Laffy Taffys, Fun Dips, Skittles, Ring Pops, Bottle Pops, and all things gummy and chocolate.

Another crowd stood transfixed around the green, large nosed, wart covered, red eyed, animatronic witch as she stirred the large plastic cauldron, cackling in a window-breaking shriek.

"Now that's just racist," Seamus said. He elbowed Dean who, like most others, laughed at the atrocity. "Stuff it, muggle born. Oi! Potter, got your phone on you? We need a picture of this."

"I don't know mate, she sort of looks like Umbridged, wouldn't you say?"

"How rude! The muggles worked really hard on this party. No need to insult the decoration."

"They're costumes really are terrible. Those robes and hats wouldn't even be found in my grandmother's closet."

"For Merlin's sake, since when do all our noses look like Snape's? Let's change into teared up pants and backwards hats and chant _I'm a muggle_ around the place."

"Think I can get that muggle girl to dance with me?" Seamus asked. "What are muggle women into?"

"Not into you, that's for sure."

Emily and Jessie—the boy who'd helped Harry back at the fair—walked over to the crowd.

"Like it? Emily asked. "Personally I like the werewolf one better . Witches are so last week. Everyone is talking about that new movie now."

"Can a werewolf hex you?"

"No.."

"Levitate objects? Apparate?"

"Appa…Er—no."

"Turn into something other than a furrball?"

Jessie laughed, not sensing the mellow hostility. "You must not know a lot about werewolfs."

Another wizard opened his mouth before Dean covered it. "Yeah. We don't. Good talk though."

"Emily!" Called Andrew. "Where'd you order the pumpkins? I thought we agreed on the animatronics budget."

"Pumpkins? What are you talking about. I got them at them from the patch."

"Okay. Right. So you care to explain why they're moving?"

"Moving?"

"Mouths, eyes. Nice prank, but hanging them on the ceiling was too far. You could've fallen, and then who'd be in trouble?"

"You lost me."

Andrew rubbed his temples, then grabbed Emily's head, guiding it in the direction. Five jack o'lanterns floated eight meters in midair, faces contorting into different comical expressions. This wasn't good, Harry thought.

He rushed over to the scene. Luckily the muggles were oblivious to the more than obvious magical prank.

Harry went around the floating spectacle to the janitor's closet behind it. He opened the cracked door, finding two students— two Hufflepuff, one Slytherin, and another Harry wasn't too sure about—wands lifted, levitating the vegetables.

"Get out," he said.

"What?" the Slytherin smirked. "Can't have Halloween without magic."

_"Now."_

"Fine."

The pumpkins crashed down and shattered, it's insides splattering several meters.

The wizards scrambled, leaving a mind blown Andrew and Emily to question reality.

Harry went back to the snack table with Ron and Darren. "Join the schools, they said."

"Were those pumpkins just—"

"It would be safe, they said," Harry interrupted Darren.

* * *

His eyes took in each ghoul and goblin in the room, finally resting on the cheerleading squad. While in uniform, they wore deathly pale makeup and blood red lipstick with cheap, plastic fangs. The undead squad did not have Amber among them.

He walked to the snack table closest to them, his arms swinging shakily by his side as he tried to force his steps to be natural.

Straining his ear, Harry pretended to be reading the labels on the muggle candy.

Henry chatted playfully with Ajah, the young wizard having to withhold vomit when their conversation took a turn to Henry's muscle size. Just when he was running out of labels to inspect after withstanding the cackles and indiscreet whispers about Emily's hair, the talk finally turned Amber's way.

"Geez, to be upset is one thing, but to not show up to the party at all? What a nutter."

"I never liked her much anyway," said Ajah. "But honestly! To consider saying yes to that loser?"

"Dead from the neck up, I'll tell you."

"From the blond to that. Have you seen Draco's legs? And those lips."

Harry swallowed vomit.

"I think you ladies were too hard on her," Henry told them. "I mean—" He began to laugh—"what other daft could possible stand atop the pyramid?"

Harry walked away, the words of the cheerleaders still fresh in his ears. For the first time in his life, he wanted to punch a girl, but those feelings didn't compare to what he wanted to do to Henry.

Guilt drowned him. Harry felt like a first year all over again. The day Hermione had ran to the bathroom, nearly killed by a troll because of their harsh words.

Not that any words had left his lips. It was even worse—his actions. Because of him Amber had lost what made Amber Amber. Her friends, popularity, cheer, boys.

Where was she?

Harry's eyes lit up thinking to the one place where all females hid in times of distress.

He needed backup.

* * *

"Is it empty?"

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"She doesn't want you in there, or me, apparently."

"I'm taking that to mean it's empty."

With one deep breath, Harry opened the door to the girl's loo.

It was cold inside, with nothing to show other than pristine sinks, various mirrors, some littered with forgotten makeup products and empty perfume bottles.

All but one stall was closed.

Harry knocked. "Amber?"

"Go away."

"Please unlock the door."

"No."

"Why?"

Silence.

_"Alohomora!" _Harry pulled the door open.

"Hey!" Amber was atop the toilet lid, knees pulled up to her neck, mascara running down her cheeks.

Despite her protest, Harry came closer. The whole time, the cheerleader blushed madly. Having people see her cry wasn't her style.

"Here, before all your face melts off," Harry handed her a tissue for the snot and dripping mascara.

She took it. "Jerk."

"I'm only joking. It's okay."

Amber wasn't looking at him.

"You got to see me half naked and beat up at the hospital. Trust me, you're winning the beauty contest."

This got a smile out of her. "I've always been winning."

It faded as quickly as it came.

"I heard them talking, your, um, ex-friends."

She looked at him. "I'm sorry," Harry said. "It's all my fault. It was wrong to make you my human slave and accidentally making them hate you."

Another smile, this time a sad one, appeared on her face. "You're right about the human slave part, but the rest…It's nothing to do with you. I guess I just…Ever since that day at the camp, remember? The things we talked about, then I got to be around your friends and, well they're different from mine. They're fun, and honest. They never judge each other."

Amber stood up and walked to the sinks. Harry followed.

She washed her skin and removed all the makeup. Her eyes were still swollen from crying, but Harry liked Amber better this way. Her face looked softer and her brown eyes and pink cheeks shone through.

"Then what's the problem? If you hate your friends so much, then just be with Linda, Mike, and Darren."

"That's it," Amber said, drying her face off. "That's the problem. I can't _just be_ with them. They hate me."

"Why would they hate you?"

"Because she's the world's biggest brat, that's why," Mike said, coming in with Linda and Darren. How long they'd been standing by the door, Harry did not know. "She's done nothing but bully us and everyone around school ever since I can remember."

Harry was about to interject, but Amber spoke. "Don't say anything, Harry. I deserve it."

Amber's gaze shifted to the ground as Mike kept talking. "She's vile, cruel, and the only signs of humanity she ever showed were that day at the fair," Mike said, then sighed. Amber crossed her arms, bracing herself for the final insult.

"And every day after."

She looked up. "What?"

"What my brute, and slightly heartless friend is trying to say," Darren elaborated. "Is that—thank God—you're not the same Amber we knew and hated."

"Contrary to popular belief, I'm not heartless, and the new Amber is welcome to join us on the dance floor." Mike grabbed her arm. "Come on, we have two extra t-shirts made before Linda and the witch decide to go as the woodland duo."

Before she or Harry knew what the hell was happening, she was being dragged away while Darren and Linda discussed makeup techniques for Amber's costume and Mike winking goodbye to Harry as the muggles stole her date.

* * *

Little did Harry know that joining Darren and Ron in the inharmonious wolf whistling tune that serenaded Mike and Linda's dance would result in the world's biggest slap of Karma.

Why had the music suddenly turned slow? Why had everyone else scattered to dance awkwardly with a stranger or happily with a date? Why was Amber suddenly standing alone, innocently looking around the room for a way out? And more importantly, why the hell were Harry's feet moving towards her?!

Ron and Darren hung back by the snack table, their snide comments still audible from across the room.

"Our little witch is growing up, Ron."

"I still remember when he drenched her in soda. Where have those days gone?"

Amber's eyes met his just half a meter's length away.

He took a deep breath. "Amber I—"

"Thought you'd never ask."

She grabbed his hand and smiled. Her touch was electric, and her shimmering brown eyes still beautiful under that possessed rag doll makeup.

Harry let her guide him to the dance floor. The sounds of Darren and Ron had become mute. Everything but the soft music and Amber's soft breathing was an inexistent soundwave.

Her hands went to his shoulders and his to her waist.

Directionless, they glided.

Silence was welcome, but Amber spoke softly, as if not to break the moment. "I wonder if Darren planned this."

"What?"

"Our costumes."

"I don't follow."

"A skeleton and a rag doll? Nightmare Before Christmas?"

Harry just stared back confused.

"I'll have to show it to you sometime."

Amber paused and frowned.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head and giggled. "With your dancing? Everything."

"No, really. You're troubled?"

She sighed. "I just don't want you to leave. You'll come visit, won't you? When the whole trouble in magic land clears up?"

When. Her hope was poisonously naïve.

Cautiously, Harry pulled her in closer. Her skin was soft—Harry noticed—as Amber's arms wrapped around his neck. "Yes."

The moment lasted an eternity. Frozen in a picture of black and white, one side lighter than the other. Wizard and muggle freely trapped in the joyously tragic slow dance of the century.

_Once Upon a Dream_ played softly in the background. So far, the only song Harry could somewhat recognize from his childhood. It was tainted. Gloomy and slow. Maybe there was a hint of romance behind its altered, deep, melodic tune, but to Harry it felt more like a foreboding.

The dance ended.

This was the part where the credits were supposed to roll. The happily-ever-after to the family friendly movie. Though, Harry knew the fun wasn't over.

Walking back to the corner where his friends had gathered, all seemed well. Linda peer pressured Darren to ask somebody—anybody—to dance. Mike taunted him to the brink until Darren kidnapped Linda and forcefully twirled her on the dance floor while everyone but Mike applauded.

They both returned to the snack table, laughing and panting for air. "And that, Mike," Hermione advised. "Is why you're an idiot."

Soon Harry found himself holding Amber's hand as they each lifted a cup of punch in the air. "To Amber," Mike said. "The newest member of the freak squad!"

"To Amber!" they chanted.

They huddled together as Amber pulled out her phone for a picture.

"One day," Mike said. "They will invent a word just for Amber's obsession with self-photography."

"It's not often my makeup looks this good," she said. Darren smiled at her.

"Hermione," Linda said, pointing. "What do you think is going on over there?"

Many heads, including Harry's, had already turned towards the small commotion, but not many were taking notice. Some students walked further towards the dance entrance.

As usual, Harry saw Emily and Andrew attempting to handle the situation. Just when Harry was about to turn back, the word owl reached his ears amongst the excited chatter.

Andrew looked more irritated than usual when shouting, "Everyone, go back to the dance!"

"Emily, go get a broom or something. Persistent, this little one. It's like she really wants to join the party."

"Hedwig."

"Who?" Darren asked.

The wizards rushed to the front, but there was no way around the crowd.

"The back entrance," Hermione told him.

This time when Harry ran, the muggles followed.

Amber tried to catch up to Harry. "What's going on?"

"My owl. She's trying to break in."

"Your what?"

"Wizard mail," Ron said.

"Ah, yes. Thank you for that extensive clarification."

Twisting and turning through the corridors, Harry prayed this was from Cole. Maybe he's finally gotten through to him. Cole would stop the fighting before it began. He knew it. He knew they were good, and Harry knew Cole was not a killer.

The hall was empty. A broom poked out from the dance hall. A lousy attempt to shoo the snowflake owl away. It squawked and pecked viciously at the flustered teens.

"Hedwig!"

The owl turned and flew to Harry's shoulder. She hooted once more, as if complaining about the lack of cooperation in the establishment.

"There, there," Harry said, pulling off the note on her leg.

"Bloody hell, that's a new kind of crazy," Mike said.

_Come on Quinn._

Harry unrolled it and read aloud. "Fight at the bell."

* * *

Hedwig fluttered away. Where she was headed, Harry did not know. The soft touch of her wings on his face was still imprinted like a burning omen.

A warning or a threat. Harry was betting on the latter.

"The bell?" Amber asked. "What does that mean?"

Harry shook his head. "Fight as in attack, I'm guessing. The witch hunters are coming at the bell—"looking back down at the piece of paper and frowning—"what the hell is the bell?"

The answer came quicker than he expected. An ear piercing ring—much like that of sirens above water—spread throughout the room, the hall, the entire building. Lights flashed white and red and crowds poured into the corridors, running for the exit.

"Fire!" someone yelled.

People laughed and chattered, pouring out of the ballroom, wondering what the ball's prankster had in mind.

The witch hunters have arrived.

"Amber," Harry said numbly. Fear filled adrenalin filled his lungs. "Call the police. Get the muggles out of here."

"But—"

_"Please_._"_

Linda, Mike, and Darren were already running with the crowd. Harry turned to Hermione and Ron. "Get the D.A, McGonagall and the rest of our teachers. I'll meet you at the cafeteria."

Ron and Hermione split, faces ashen, but running full speed.

Harry made to go, but Amber was still there. "Amber, please. We don't have time for—"

Her lips pressed against his. Harry was unsure of what was happening for most part of the kiss. Her hands caressed the back of his head, but he just stood there, frozen in confusion, thrill, and stupidity.

She pulled away, eyes twinkling with amusement and fear. "Don't die."

Amber turned to leave.

Wait!"

Her head swiveled back, jet black hair flying with it.

"I was better than Malfoy, right?"

Amber rolled her eyes and kept walking, but Harry didn't miss the curve of her lip.

* * *

Harry hid under one of the many snack tables in the school. Waiting. Watching.

There were no other sounds other than that of the continuous howling of the alarm and his heavy breathing. The makeup on his face had begun to drip from the beads of sweat on his forehead all the way down to his chin.

The sound of a door opening.

Footsteps.

More footsteps.

_Many more footsteps._

Bruno's voice. "We know you're here, Potter. Security cameras don't lie."

Harry gripped his wand tighter under the table and adjusted Calder's glasses on his face. Slowly, he crawled out.

About forty, seemingly unarmed men and women surrounded him, strangely uninformed—brown full body suits, some with matching hats with logos that read F_.P.C_—and ready to pounce.

Buy time, Harry, buy time.

Voice unsteady; "F.P.C?"

Bruno advanced with cuffs. "Courtesy of one of our members. Fire prevention corporation."

Harry took a step back, bumping his back into the table.

Businessmen indeed. Powerful enough to enter a school to murder the innocent without anyone blinking an eye.

"So you just pulled the fire alarm and the staff let you in."

"If by staff, you mean Gled, then yes."

Bruno saw through the lousy attempt. Slowly, he walked even closer, responding to his miserable questions calmly, as if to not frighten away the stiff, still prey.

Harry pointed his wand at him.

"Put it down. Don't make us use force, Potter."

The doors burst open again. The D.A members rushed to his side along with three of Hogwart's substitute volunteers. One of the D.A member, Harry noticed, was still wearing a reaper's Halloween mask.

Harry wished he had something to cover his horror with as well.

Clearly outnumbered yet engulfed in determination, they stood in front of Harry.

"You leave these children alone!"

"No one has to get hurt here, _children_." The death eater smiled amusedly. A lie. No children here, just filthy scum they didn't have time to deal with. "Just hand us Potter, and we'll leave in peace."

No one shot. Not one spell, not one bullet. Crystallized in the mirror of the moment. Wizards V.S muggles. One blast was all it took to shatter the confines of an all-out war.

There, out of the corner of his eye, the glowing appeared in the back of the group. The wizard amongst witch hunters. Did they know? Could he use it to his advantage? What wizard would want to the chosen one captured?

Harry recalled the day in the cabin. He'd been able to postpone his death by the mere mention of the treachery.

"Nice tattoo," Lavender laughed. Harry's eyes followed hers. On one of the female witch hunters was the same symbol he'd seen on their website. A human skull impaled with two wands. The cracks on the skull were visible on each side of the head, making an X formation.

_Of course! How hadn't I seen this before?_

Harry turned to Bruno, smiling innocently. The man glared, ready for anything Harry had to throw at him. "Are you sure you want to be fighting us? It seems to be it'd do you much more good to fight each other."

He raised an eyebrow. "I don't have time for your tricks, Potter—"raising the gun to Harry's head—" hand yourself over or watch your friends die with you."

It was a leap of faith. Harry dropped his wand and raised his hands. "No tricks. These glasses are made by Calder Quinn, ring a bell?"

Harry pointed to the center of the group. "Looks like you have a wolf in with the sheep."

"Lies!" the buff witch hunter exclaimed. He inched closer to Bruno. Either he was once a redhead in his younger days, or his beard was stained with blood. "The creature spills nonsense to escape once again."

"Prove me wrong and I'll hand myself over!"

Bruno took one long look at the wizards. They looked just as baffled at Harry's spontaneous offer as he was. "Very well." He beckoned Harry over with one long, bony finger.

Taking a deep breath, Harry walked.

Just a few meters away from Quinn, the figure began to move swiftly back. Harry pointed. "He's getting away!"

A commotion in the back of the group, and then, like officers moving back to let the chief near the crime scene, the witch hunters made way.

Tackled and pinned to the ground by two burly men, laid the pale face and dark eyes Harry only too quickly recognized.

Bruno looked down dumbly. "Gledrick?"

Gledrick struggled against his bonds, his eyes shooting fire at Harry. "Capture him, you fool!"

"Take off his glove," Harry told Bruno. If Harry was in no position to give orders, Bruno did nothing about it, and did exactly that.

A Death Eater mark.

Bruno stumbled backwards. It was happening again. The betrayal of a friend.

"What shall we do with him, chief?"

Bruno didn't answer right away. He looked at Harry. Madness clouded his gaze. Here he stood, about to attack a group of kids. When had his drive for eradicating evil turned to the capture of a teen with a lousy scar? All along, his actions puppeteered from the enemies side.

The Wizards had their wands pointed at Gled now.

Nothing made sense. The wise owl that had guided him in the direction towards the good of mankind had been unmasked as the serpent right before his eyes.

This was not the change of heart Harry had hoped for.

Bruno didn't stand down. Something inside him had snapped, just as Agnes had warned.

The Mad Hatter or maybe the Joker had taken over the once cool and collected wizards slayer

"Stand him up."

The minions did as ordered. Bruno held the gun to his companion's throat. Gled didn't blink. Gled and Harry both knew the man could apparate any second, so instead, the wizard smiled venomously. "Old friend, why so mad? Surprised are we?"

Teeth clenched, "Explain."

Gled laughed. Suddenly, Bruno's fist connected with his face. The smile was gone. Gled clutched his jaw.

"Alright, alright. I suppose every genius does love to elaborate their motives."

He looked at the glaring witch hunting crowd. "What better way to rid myself of blood traitors and muggleborns than to manipulate the only people that fought on their side? The people that hunted the Dark Lord's followers."

Then turning to Bruno, "Of course, this was all fun and games until the Dark Lord returned. I needed to switch the focus of these good doers towards the annihilation of the one wizard that would fight for them."

His eyes turning to the teen, "Harry Potter."

Gled smiled again "Oh but it was much too easy. Mad stricken from loss, it was like convincing a child to leave cookies for Santa. Or in this case, kill him. This job has gotten rather boring over time, but I have a mission to complete if you'd be so kind to remove your gun."

"You want him so bad? Fight for him."

"Fine."

The wizard army was quick to stand behind Harry. No matter how powerful he was, there were too many of them.

Gled's eyes widened, then he glared at the army.

"Well, seeing as you don't want to play fair," Gled said, reaching in his pocket. "I won't either."

Too quick to react, he pointed a gun at Harry. _"Expelliarmus!"_ Ron.

Gled dodged, only seeming annoyed. Spells flew at him from all directions, but the spot they were shooting at was empty.

Behind them rang another gunshot. Harry heard the whistling fly past his head. Other wizards were in front of him; he couldn't see where Gled was shooting from anymore. There was a gap in the crowd. Harry saw as Gled lifted the gun towards him. A wicked smile.

Another bang.

A D.A member had stepped in front of him—the masked reaper—and fell to the ground.

The body—in Harry's mind—fell in slow motion. There was a cry, then a thud, and suddenly the ground was pooling with blood, but Harry couldn't stop to help.

He caught a glimpse of Gled, meters from the falling body just before he apparated, once again, behind Harry. This time, the young boy was quick to turn.

_"Expelliarmus!_" the gun flew out of Gled's hand.

All wands pointed to the defenseless Death Eater. The man raised his hands, grinning at some sick inside joke, looked at the bleeding, chest-clutching body, and turned to the witch hunters.

"What a shame," he said. "That one was a sheep in wolves' clothing."

Gled vanished.

* * *

Harry didn't ponder his words for long.

Lavender. Dean. Neville.

Harry searched for these faces in the crowd. Which members were the one under the mask? Every fiber of his being told him he needed to run to them, help them, unmask them, but Harry couldn't bear to do it.

_"No!"_ came a shout from behind Harry.

He turned to find Bruno being held back by two witch hunters. Leader or not, the man looked like a rabid dog. His eyes were bloodshot, his face sweaty, veins popping and his hair was flying.  
"I left him home!" he said, fighting the restraints. It was with that that the word play became clear.

Harry rushed to unmask the body, this time knowing what he'd find.

Fluttering rainwater eyes and bloodied lips, still coughing up crimson.

Cole Quinn was just barely keeping conscious.

* * *

Harry wished he could say there was some heartfelt exchange of words between him and the muggle that took his bullet, but he only watched as the boy coughed up more blood than Draco ever did insults. The witch hunters scrammed (with the exception of Bruno and three others), knowing the police would arrive with the ambulance, unaware they had called the cops beforehand.

Others had ran to fetch McGonagall, but Harry knew time was ticking.

It was both real and like a movie. Cole clutched onto Harry's hand, not really seeing the wizard, but as a source of life to stem the pain, as if he could pass it on to someone else.

Harry's words weren't his, just a repetitive false hope he was unsure Cole was really hearing as the wizards tightened his grip on Cole's hand while Ron helped carry him outside—"it's okay. You're okay. Everything is going to be okay."

Blood began to soak onto Ron's shirt. Harry didn't think any strength was left in those near limp muscles, but Cole clutched Harry's hand once again. For a split second, he was there. Cole saw Harry, and Harry saw Cole.

Harry had seen people at a short length from death's door before, all sharing a similarity—uncertainty and fear. Some hid it very well, but it was always there.

What would happen when they took a face first plunge into eternity? The fear enveloped them like a living shadow.

Cole was different. He was in pain, that was evident, but a hope such as Harry had never seen was there. He was jumping off the plane of life with a secure parachute. Harry didn't know where he got it, but it engulfed the muggle now. Cole knew he would be okay.

A choked whisper. Harry wanted to tell Cole not to waste energy, but knew this was the last time the dwarf might speak. You're not monster, he managed to read before Cole began to choke again—face going from red to blue—this time without break.

* * *

**A/N: *Screams* the next chapter is the last!  
****Please reviewwww! PLEASE. FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS PIZZA, PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE**

**Also: who here has the/has read The Cursed Child? *raises hand* I LOVED IT.**  
**Okay, that's it for now. Review *cough***

**P.S: Review**

**Love y'all!  
**

-**lauralydney**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: ajdsjfjgoldndsiskdifnsdisnsid  
THE LAST CHAPTER IS HERE. SOME WILL LOVE THE ENDING. SOME MAY WANT TO KILL ME...**

**I lie not when I say I've never been this afraid of posting a chapter.**

**-lauralydney**

* * *

**Chapter 29**

_Earlier that night…_

The school had never much cared for him anyway. Above average grades and perfect attendance never landed him anything more than a meaningless pat on the back and jealous glares from his class mates.

He had the feeling that after tonight his dad would notice those achievements too…were he not to interfere.

It couldn't be helped, and he had Agnes to blame.

Ever since she left, he'd done nothing but read. It was an escape into a reality that—for a moment—was his.

Hero's, happy endings, philosophy's both alike and opposite. He read until words were practically coming out of his ears.

It didn't help. It never filled the anger or the loneliness. Reading had become a drug with a temporary effect, leaving him more broken when the last page was turned.

Cole knew Linda liked to read too. He remembered Agnes mentioning something along those lines years ago, when reading was just a hobby and not an anesthetic. That's why he'd filled her cabin prison with a couple of scattered books.

There was however one book he'd ignored; the one Agnes had given him.

The one book that convicted him enough to take the final decision. To stop the killings and the self-pity.

He ran downstairs and picked up one of the many wands stored in his father's study. Cole didn't ponder long on whom it had belonged to or what could've become of them. Instead, he put on the grim reaper mask and left a note by the kitten's drawer.

**_His name is Dr. Marshmallow. Please take care of him._**

If he returned tonight, he'd remove it. Of course, he wanted to return. To live in the happily ever after his father had promised him, but death didn't intimidate him at this point.

He'd only opened the book a few weeks ago, but a power stronger than magic took the fear away.

With one last pet on the head to Dr. Marshmallow, he took off into the night, whispering a single phrase over and over

_"Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one's life for one's friends-John 15:13."_

* * *

Bruno Quinn was resisting not the cuffs, but rather the blind truth. Confirmation of what he feared or the relieving news of his son's well-being.

The cops had arrived at the scene before Harry even had time to take his next breath. Form his next thought. Come up with his perfect cover story.  
Not one witch hunter there escaped the black cars with wailing sirens. Some made it as far as the parking lot, unpleasantly surprised when they found the area to be surrounded.

Hermione had thought ahead of Harry long before the interrogation began.  
Though, it wasn't much of a thought as it was a strategy. They played the shoulder shrug card—_who were they? _Don't know._ Who called us? _Don't know._ Who let the m in? Who pulled the fire alarm? Ever seen any of those men or women before? _Don't know.

The police was patient enough with them, only nodding politely at their short, useless answers. Harry was sure they planned to investigate the matter further, but they were off the hook.  
Just some under aged teens at the wrong place at the wrong time. Shame about their friend.

The last he saw of the ballroom that day was one final glimpse at Bruno as the officer's dragged him away, all the while shouting Cole's name at the top of his lungs. A penetrating echo louder than any of the gunshots.

* * *

Outside the air was freezing.  
Students were lined up in random rows in the large soccer field. None of them had been in a designated class. Random lines of different grade levels mixed in barely being kept together. The area was a hissing sea of students whispering in terrified symphony.

Harry looked for Amber, risking strange glances from students when he _a loser_ asked about Ms. Popular.

Professors Anderson—their history teacher—caught them wandering and placed them in a random line.

Hermione spotted Linda, Mike, and Darren and pointed.  
Harry waited until Anderson was a good distance away before bolting towards them.

Linda's eyes lit up like fireworks when she saw them coming, covering her mouth, she let out a squeal and ran towards them, hugging the life out of Hermione.  
Mike and Darren looked up at the sudden noise, squinting under the darkness. A truckload of weight visibly left their back when spotting the wizards, they too running towards them.

Mike did a side hug to Ron and Harry who were still shaking from the commotion. Darren mirrored Mike, gripping Harry tight as if to make sure he was really there.

_"Merlin," _Mike imitated the wizards after Linda and Hermione pulled away, him and Darren gripping her shoulder warmly. "I thought we'd gone back to only one smart mouth in the group."

Hermione smirked. "Not yet."

Harry opened his mouth to explain what happened.

Linda shushed him, and raising her voice slightly, "What happened? We heard the gunshots, but when we turned to ask you about it, you weren't beside us anymore."

McGonagall was a good ten meters from where they stood. She couldn't be playing dumb because of her, could she?

"Yeah," Mike said in that same false confusion. "What did happen?"

Harry took another quick glance at his professor.  
A fraction of a second. Her eyes moved away. She was listening.

"We thought we'd stay to see where the prank was headed." Harry laughed nervously. "We weren't near the gunshots, as you can tell. I uh…don't know what happened. The police lead us out of the school."

Linda hugged Hermione again. Not the same warm hug from the beginning. An awkward, false hug. The type you'd see in the drama club after the actors read the brackets in the script.

"My parents are picking me up," Linda said. "They said it was okay for Mike and Darren to come, you guys should tag along. Nothing fixes stress like pizza and anime."

* * *

The ride to Linda's house was as uncomfortable as it could get. While Mr. and Mrs. Nyguen were fine with the extra visitors, it was not something the car was equipped for.  
Linda sat atop of Mike, all the while under the glare of Mrs. Nyguen. Ron carried Hermione, which was fine with everyone else except the two of them, and Darren sat atop of Harry.

Harry never realized how bony that muggle was until today.

_"Bet you wish it was Amber," _Mike whispered.

_"That offer works for me too,"_ Darren whispered back.

They were right. He couldn't stop thinking about her. It was nonsense to think that that kiss could've been a goodbye, right?

The car slid smoothly into the stone driveway.

The teens all but crawled atop each other to escape.

"Told you brooms were better," Ron told Mike, walking in after Linda and Hermione.

Mike shook his head. "I don't care how fun you make it sound. Having that between your legs can't be comfortable."

The house was just as Harry had found it on their last visit. Not one speck of dust on any surface, as if time were forever frozen in the home. Maybe time was always frozen here. Trapped in a frustrating cleanliness.

The entire house, except Linda's room that is. While she—like her family—was a neat freak, the area at least looked lived in with the wrinkled bedsheets and table littered with cloths and laces from last minute costume details.

No one said a word as she turned on the TV. Everyone sat around as if nothing had happened watching the _Nightmare Before Christmas. _None wanted to speak. The worst part was supposedly over, yet Harry couldn't help but think that it had all been a breeze. Numbly, he waited it out, nibbling on some potato chips until the real nightmare came.

He didn't want to do it, but Harry knew he had to. It had to be him.  
The movie ended and Linda flipped to the next channel—the news. The attack on the school was already the talk of the town. It wouldn't be long before Agnes called him and asked about Cole.

Maybe they hadn't let her keep the cell phone. There was no way Calder could have their numbers…was there?

His stomach churned and he pushed the chip bag away. Agnes had been hopeful. The same hope that burned in Cole's eyes during those last moments had a forever shine in her eyes too. Harry still didn't know where the source stemmed from, but he feared accidentally extinguishing that ember.  
Agnes and Calder's faces crossed his mind again. They had wanted to take Cole home. To give him back the family he'd lost.  
The surreal whistle of a gunshot echoed around him and he saw Cole fall to the ground.

Harry blinked rapidly, but it remained.

_Avada kedavra!—_Cedric's body hit the ground along with it.

Panic rose from his stomach to his throat.

"Where's your loo?" Harry asked, his voice raising few octaves.

Linda looked towards him, concerned. "Downstairs, second door to the left."

He dashed, time unreal. One second he'd been in the attic, the next he was returning his lunch to the porcelain throne.

His hands were cold and wet, sliding around the surface of seat.

Cole was dead because of him.

Cedric was dead because of him.

His parents were dead because of—Harry clutched his stomach and another flow of vomit splashed into the toilet.

His body couldn't take the pent up emotions. He'd refused to cry and it was taking revenge.

As embarrassing as it was, the only image that came to his mind was Mrs. Weasley. Harry remembered the way she'd held him after Cedric's death. No one had ever held him like that. Only she could make it better, but he wouldn't dare say that out loud, especially in front of Ron.

Someone knocked at the door.

Harry flushed the toilet and wiped at the pricking sensation in the corners of his eyes.

"Harry?" Linda and Hermione called in unison.

He unlocked the door. They were all there. His big, strange friend group with the exception of Amber.

"You feeling okay?" Linda asked. "Should I call my parents?"

"Fine," Harry answered, not looking at the human lie detector.

Hermione grabbed his sleeve and pulled him into a hug.

"I'm fine," he lied, not hugging her back arms hanging limp by his sides. Then, unwanted tears rolling down his cheeks, he repeated "I'm fine."

* * *

Though Linda's mattress was small, they all managed to fall asleep on it, each using it more as a pillow, the rest of their body resting on the carpeted floor. The TV blared and a light drizzle of rain knocked on the roof.

If spending the night wasn't included in the invitation—Harry realized—the Nyguens did nothing about it.  
Instead he found someone had thrown a blanket over them when he awoke around 3am after Darren had kicked him for the third time.

Not that he was getting much sleep that night anyway. Every time he dozed off the shadow of Gled would materialize in front of him until he was back at the dance once again.

Harry knew the trauma would eventually pass. After all, he'd been through worse. The muggles had been more than supportive in their own way. As much as he hated crying in front of people—friends more than anything—once the tears started, they wouldn't stop.

There were no louds sobs, just a fountain of pain pitifully hid on Linda's pillow.

Darren had brought him some red, sugar intoxicated muggle drink and Mike punched him in the shoulder. After about an hour of trying, he and Darren finally got him to laugh. Watching Ron try to beat Linda at a video game whilst Darren and Mike pretended to be cheerleaders was priceless.

The night went on like that. Eventually Harry too joined in on the fun.

When they thought Harry had fallen asleep, Ron and Hermione filled them in on what had happened. Hearing the events didn't faze him as much as he thought they would.  
No.  
Whatever happened was over with. A thing of the past. The muggles had driven the madness away with the simplicity of their joy.

Yet, Harry still felt unsafe.  
Yes, Gled was gone. The witch hunter behind bars. That wasn't the problem—Cole was.

The last few moments with him were burned into his mind. How could someone be so eager—so _peaceful_—when looking death in the face?  
Sure, everyone could play it off using poisonously soothing words like '_I had a good run'._  
But in the end, what did the race matter when you're plunging into eternity? Their security was a farce. Only Cole's had been genuine.  
These same thoughts had tried to obtain a hold on him after Cedric passed, but now he couldn't push them away. Cedric's death had been instant, but Cole had shared a piece of invisible wisdom with him.  
How had he been so sure?  
An array of questions pertaining to death swam in his mind. Too many to count. Too many to sort. Too many to breathe.

He sat up and flipped his phone open.  
Darren mumbled something unintelligible in his sleep. To his surprise, not one text from Amber.  
Then, a pang in his chest.  
Seven missed calls from Agnes. She kept the phone after all.

The news never disclosed the name of the student injured during the attack, nor had they told Harry whether he'd survived or not, but _critical condition_ didn't leave much to the imagination.

The highlight of the night was when the reporter announced the finding of an unharmed, missing man wandering the streets in Cole's neighborhood.  
After a few psychological analyses, Mr. Short would return to his job.

Mike rolled over and his arm wrapped around Linda. Harry got the feeling he wasn't completely unconscious.

* * *

Hermione left to deliver the news to Calder and Agnes not long after the victim of the shooting was pronounced dead. Harry said he'd go with her, but the offer was empty. There was no way he could face them ever again.

"I hope they haven't seen the news already," Linda said, passing the bacon plate over to Darren. "It'll be better they find out through her.

Mr. Nyguen had already left for work, but Linda's mom was up and about, cleaning the already spotless home. While he ate, Harry was extra careful of crumbs and stains on the white cloth table.  
She was especially attentive of him this morning, giving him side glances asking if he wanted more juice, a hot bath. Either she had seen him crying last night or Linda told her.

"I don't want you going back to that school, Linda."

"_Mum_. We've been over this. It was a onetime thing. That stupid girls' academy is all the way across town anyway. How do you expect me to visit then?"

Parents were flying in from everywhere. The classes had been canceled, but the school was still open given that not every child had a place to stay while the drama cleared.

Harry knew Amber's dad was out of town. The only place he wanted to be right now was back at school, lying next to Amber in his dorm while they counted down the minutes before he had to leave. He didn't want to pack.

* * *

The school was still filled with students. Emily's mom picked her up. It's a sad day when the only one keeping order is a grumpier-than-usual Andrew.

"As I was saying," Mike continued upon reaching a nearly desolate hall. "Amber was acting pretty weird, and then there was this rumor of her falling down the stairs and—"

Before Mike could continue, Harry rushed over to her.

"Amber!"

She whipped around, giving him a strange look.  
"Amber," he said again, towering in front of her. "You forgot something."

"I—"

Harry leaned in, planting a kiss on her soft lips. Amber's body froze. Harry held it, waiting for the surprise to pass.  
It didn't.

She pushed him. _Hard_. He stumbled backwards.

Angrily, she wiped her mouth. Her gaze was disoriented and angry. As if someone had just woken her up with an ice bucket. "What do you think you're doing?!"

Harry's star struck mood was shattered.  
Was she having second thoughts?  
To make it less awkward he forced an amused smile on his face. "I was just returning the favor."

She was silent, staring at him in confusion. "Look, I don't know if randomly kissing strangers is a thing where you come from, but if you want to keep those lips, I'd advise against it."

"What? Amber I was just—"

"And _how_ do you know my name?" She paused for a fraction of a second and rolled her eyes, speaking the next line to herself. "Right, everyone knows my name."

Slowly, Harry's mouth opened, his face morphing from confusion to horror. He clasped a hand on his mouth, holding back a cry for help he knew would do no good now.

It all made sense now. The hushed voices. False hugs. McGonagall's penetrating look.

"You have no idea who I am, do you?"

The sincerity in his tone caught her off guard. There was no snide comment, just a shake of the head. "The accident in the stairs…You didn't hear? Isn't this part of your prank?"

Harry shook his head. "Prank? What prank?"

"During the shooting I fell down a flight of stairs. Lost a bit of memory, but not much. Well, I guess with everything else, not everyone has found out yet." She smiled smugly. "A bunch of boys keep claiming I dated them during October."

"Mr. Potter," came a stern voice behind him.

Harry turned. McGonagall wasn't the least bit phased by his horror. Harry gave Amber one last glance and followed her numbly.

Being expelled from Hogwarts felt like nothing now.

* * *

"Sit."

Harry did.

Room 413 was less welcoming that he remembered.

"I understand keeping our identities hidden in this school is a difficult task," she began. "And you are well aware of what happened to Agnes when she failed to do so."

"I was about to pack anyway."  
Harry's words didn't feel like his anymore.

The professor frowned. "If you would be so kind as to let me finish, I would much appreciate it."

Harry looked up for the first time since he walked in.

"As I was saying; you are well aware of what happened to Agnes. However, she acted deliberately, stunning a muggle. I assume your actions weren't this reckless?"

Harry pursed his lips. "It was self-defense from another _classmate."_

"Wizard?"

"Yes."

McGonagall sighed. "Even if they were somewhat deliberate, I can't expel you for obvious reasons."

Why was it so hard for everyone to say Voldemort?

"Are we done here the, _professor_?"

McGonagall raised an eyebrow.

"I already have enough detention to fill up the rest of the year. I mean, you could always erase Ron's memories of me, not like those matter. Why not throw Hermione in there too?"

"Harry," her eyes softened. "You know I had to. The law—"

"Screw the bloody law!"

Maybe she would've scorned him for his tone, had it not cracked near the end.

"Amber has to remember me."

Tears fell.

"It's not fair."

Minevra handed him a tissue.

"I know about the others. They must forget too, I'm afraid."

Harry opened his mouth to protest but was cut off.  
"It's either me or someone from the ministry that must take action."

_"Please."_

McGonagall eyes were heartbroken, yet determined. Harry would never win.

It was all over. Every moment, every laugh, and every memory would disappear.

"Maybe there is something I can do," McGonagall said softly.

* * *

The rest of the day flew by.

Harry did his best to do as McGonagall advised. With each moment, he took the picture of the single flower in a meadow—capturing a single beautiful piece of a greater story.

The compromise felt both forced and natural, like trying to enhance what was already there.

By tomorrow, just before they boarded the buses, everything they shared would be gone—except for today.

Mike and Darren helped him and Ron pack. No one mentioned Amber or Cole. Instead, they tried to fit in Ron's suitcase to no avail. Harry was about to tell them of expansion charms used on luggage but remembered the deal. No mention of magic.

When finished, Mike and Ron played soccer while Darren and Harry watched.

"That could've happened to us?"

Harry nodded grimly. He didn't tell the muggles about his conversation with McGonagall either.  
Even if telling them their memories would be erased didn't count as magic, Harry wasn't about to do so. It was best to just let it happen.

Maybe they wouldn't remember the fun, but they would remember him. A vague memory of a friend. Nothing else is sure, only that we were close.

"We'll never tell anyone," Darren promised.

They left for lunch. Amber sat alone.  
No cheer squad. No geek squad.

Harry wanted to go over to her, but thought against it.

Henry walked over to taunt her, but was hit with meatball. Harry suspected Darren.

Around the evening, Harry mustered the courage to call Agnes. It was pleasant.  
She assured him everything would be okay, but didn't dig too deep into the topic. Instead she talked about her new cat.  
Harry listened like it was the most interesting thing in the world, falling soundly asleep after the call.

* * *

_The final day…_

The ground glistened with fresh rain.

About four hundred muggles, both students and teachers, stood just outside the parking lot. A loud cheer broke out upon seeing the exchange students walk out. Some had packages too. Large, small, wrapped, unwrapped.  
Harry shook his head, amused. More gifts.

Yesterday afternoon Ms. Ross had given them each a bag small of Halloween candy with a fake certificate of _Computer and Robotics Wiz _degree. The _wiz_ was enough to send the entire group of wizards into nervous laughter. They'd receive—once again—confused looks from onlookers.

Mr. Anderson—as thoughtful as he'd tried to be—gave them the less impressive gift; a book titled _Walker Academy: A History_.

The irony in this one also sent some of the wizards into fits of laughter, Hermione, Ron, and Harry in particular.

"Sheesh," Mike had said at lunch after another member of Andrew and Emily's help club dropped the books off at the table. "Explain the joke or shut up."

The irritated look was off his face now. He, Darren and Linda ran over to them. Mike shook his dripping, dark blond hair, splashing them all.

"And so we couldn't all fit into your luggage."

Ron smiled sadly. "Guess not."

"Well, Linda could, but we're keeping her," Darren said.

"We thought about getting you something really thoughtful, but we bought you this instead—" Linda said, reaching into her purse, and giving a small packet to Hermione—"but we got you these instead."

She unwrapped it. "A box of pens?"

"I was getting sick of finding ink bottles everywhere."

Darren gave Harry a piece of paper containing what looked like three unified sentences with weird symbols. He recognized _Ron, Potter,_ and _Mione _ Somewhere in the mess.

"And that is?" Ron asked.

"Can't trust owls, mate," Darren said. "Welcome to the 20th century. It's called email."

Ron opened his mouth to speak but Hermione shushed him. "I'll explain later."

Mike handed Ron a soccer ball. They'd all signed it.

**_Don't forget about us! –Linda_**

**_Still better than zombies. –Darren_**

**_My autograph for when I'm famous- M. Harris_**

When the buses finally arrived, it was unreal. None of it felt like goodbye. Harry knew the minute he stepped on that bus he would turn around and Linda, Mike, and Darren would still be there.

They're eyes' went wide at the sound of tires.

"This is it."

For the first time since he'd met Mike, his façade broke completely. Only his long hands could manage a group hug of six people.  
How long could they stay like this before the teachers forced them on the bus?

Someone coughed.  
They broke apart.  
It was Amber.

Yesterday Amber had sat alone in the cafeteria—losing her memory must've not made her old friends take her back either way. As much as Harry wanted to go over to her and to explain everything, McGonagall had advised against it.

She didn't have her normal sarcastic smile with her. Harry's heart lit up in hope. Had McGonagall rethought the decision? Had they figured out a way to restore what had been lost?

"I, uh found this," Amber said, giving Harry her phone.

It was the picture she'd taken at the Halloween party.

"None of my text messages from the October make sense. It's like they're in code. This was about all that's normal."

The old-new Amber's smile in the picture brought one to his fallen face. "Normal isn't a word that fits in this month."

"I'm…Sorry I didn't believe you, but if we dated I can't…"

Harry smiled at the old-new Amber. "Don't worry about it."

Then, extending a hand. "I'm Harry. Harry Potter. That's Ron and Hermione," he said, signaling with his head. "And those three are your new friends."

She smiled uncertainly, like the picture had spoken these words to her before, but hearing them again still made no sense.

Muggles and wizards everywhere exchanged final hugs. Some girls teared up. Some exchanged postal addresses.

"I leave her in your capable hands." Harry said to the muggles before he, Ron and Hermione walked away, unable to evade those painful final glances.

* * *

The bus and the train ride felt shorter this time.  
Draco had walked to the back of the train to change, holding an Mp3, making sure to glance at Harry, Ron, and Hermione's cheaper gifts with a smirk.

It didn't bother him. They were worth more than a million of gadgets.

Everyone was ravenous by the time they arrived at the Great Hall for dinner, again, greeted by cheers.

"They survived!" Fred and George chanted. "They survived!"

He sat next to them and Ginny at the table, Ron filling them in with everything that had happened between mouthfuls.

Harry ate, but his expression was still downcast.

"Harry?" Hermione said. "What is it?"

He smiled sadly. "I don't think I'll ever meet anyone like Amber again."

"_Earth to Harry_."

He looked up at Ginny. How many times had she called his name, he wasn't sure.

"Huh?"

She shook her head. "Chosen one my butt. _I said _your owl brought me a letter while you were away. She looked rather irritated to tell you the truth."

She handed it to him. Sirius' letter. He stared at it dumbly.

"You going to read it or do I have to wait another month?"

"Yes Amb—I mean Ginny."

_Dear Harry, _

_I know Dumbledore's decisions seem rash at times, but from what you've told me (I could be wrong) it sounds like there's much to learn about muggles. Just remember who you're fighting for._

_-Snuffles_

_Who I'm fighting for, _Harry thought. Linda, Mike and Darren's future were in his hands now. The rise and fall of Voldemort. Before he'd only thought of the muggle-borns.

He looked at all the faces around him, truthfully not seeing a difference. Maybe they _had_ learned a lot during their time away.

Dean opened his thermos—a gift from Jessie—sipping the steaming tea.

_"Whoa ._It's still hot? How's it doing that?" Seamus asked.

Dean looked amused. "It's just a thermos."

A small crowed formed around it. Later that night Harry found some students pointing their wands at random cups and yelling _"Thermos!"_

Well, maybe they hadn't learned that much.

_THE END._

* * *

**_(FINAL)A/N: _I thought i'd have this really amazing message planned out, but I don't... I started this in 2014. Damn this took long.  
I'd like to thank everyone who's ever reviewed this fic. AND FOR THE LOVE OF PIZZA PLEASE REVIEW THE LAST CHAPTER XD**.** I love you people and goodbye :)**

**Special thanks to: My beta Ladykeyes &amp; The Wandering Muse.**

**SlytherinLegacy 338 (just for plain awesomeness).**

**My friend Angie who's had to put up with writer's block tantrums.**

**And JK Rowling for not suing me.**

**P.S: trailer of this fic is on youtube (just search wizards go muggle or Mitsuki Productions)**

**OK NOW BYE.  
**


End file.
